An Alphabet with Allen and Lavi
by Dreaming-Of-A-Nightmare
Summary: Yeah, so a poll I created caused this. But each little drabble is going to be adorable, so what the hey? Why not? .:. Rated T for everything in general. .:. A is for Akuma. B is for Between. C is for Calloused. D is for Damaged. E is for Expectant. DONE!
1. Akuma

**A – **_Akuma_

There's a fine line between 'never giving up' and 'kamikaze fighting'. Sometimes, I swear, I think that Allen is doing both. He battles so hard, putting everything he has into saving souls and destroying Akuma, which I fear he might be slowly (or quickly?) killing himself. I heard it said that someone with a parasitic anti-Akuma weapon has a shorter lifespan than someone without a parasitic type, and this worries me. Allen doesn't know about this. I don't think any of us have the heart to tell him.

Still, with his determination all fired up every time a new Akuma shows itself, I get the feeling that Allen is throwing his life on the line and might not make it one of these days. He's already been near death two or three times, and I don't think I could handle it if he actually died. I never want to say anything, but secretly I have some unspoken feelings for him.

I know, I know, I should focus on my job – being an exorcist and bookman and all that – but I can't always be thinking about those cold, distant things, now can I? If I do, I won't be human anymore. Where is your humanity unless you love? I love a lot of people, all in different ways, but Allen is special.

Sometimes, though, I get the notion that Allen cares more about Akuma than me. Or anyone else. Not in the way you're thinking, but… Well, I guess you could call it an obsession. Part of me knows that it's that damn eye of his that makes him act that way, simply because it warns him about active Akuma from all over the place. The poor guy never gets any sleep most nights.

And it's on those nights that he drifts away from the Akuma problem – at least for a little while – and visits me in the library. I'm there almost every night, filling out a book or paper or simply reading. We talk in hushed voices to one another over the course of hours, and a couple times we chatted until the sun came up. It's moments like those that I remind myself that Allen isn't too terribly die-hard, or suicidal. It's moments like those in which I can indulge in my feelings and show them openly, even if he's too tired to catch my subtle flirting.

Sure, the Akuma are a nuisance we can't escape, especially since we're exorcists, but I'm trying to teach Allen that there are other things, too. If I'm lucky, the younger boy will pick up on what other things I'm referring to, but I highly doubt it.

After all, we don't have too much longer, do we? What with the Earl and his level four Akuma recently evolving and popping up, and my bookman duties (even if I don't follow all the rules), and Allen's parasitic left arm. It sucks, because I want more time; but I know I can't have it. Fate isn't so kind. Nor are the Akuma. So I'll deal with it, and make the most of what I can. The small things, you know? Like those nights in the library.

* * *

**A/N: So I made a poll not too long ago. It had the title, 'If I do an alphabet-themed collection of drabbles, what pairing/category should I do it for?' There were 52 choices, but only about seven were picked. Getting restless and bored, I cut it off and chose four out of those seven. Oddly, all the choices we either vague or gay, so the four I picked out were MelloXNear (Death Note gayness), AllenXLavi (D. Gray-Man gayness), NaruGaa (Naruto gayness), and SatoDai (D. N. Angel gayness). **

**I already picked out what each letter will be for all of the pairings, which makes 104 planned drabbles that I have to write. No pressure, eh?**


	2. Between

**B –** _Between_

Unlike what most people might think, Allen was not caught in between not Kanda and Linalee, but Linalee and Lavi.

He also wasn't caught between death and life, but between living and fighting.

On the one hand, Allen had Linalee to support and care for him, forever showing her adoration by being there for him when she could. She had other people she needed to take care of, including herself, but she always made room for him. And Allen appreciated that.

Also on the one hand, he could live his life to it's fullest by protecting everyone he cared about, including people he didn't know, but the battles he faced in the meantime intercepted his wishes.

On the other hand, he had Lavi by his side to joke with and spend time with on a regular basis. He sensed that he meant more to Lavi than the redhead let on, but he pretended not to notice. And, in some ways, he didn't care. So long as Lavi stayed there, always at the ready behind him, he was satisfied. After all, a knight needs a warrior to partner up with if he wants to win.

Also on the other hand, Allen had the stress and hardships of being an exorcist weighing down on him. With each swing that he took of his transforming left arm, he fought against evils unimaginable to the average human. It was what he knew he had to do, even though it brought on more turmoil and pain.

Caught between two different people and two styles of living – one for his care, the other for fun; one for joy, the other for sorrow – Allen began to wonder which he should choose, and if he can even make the choice.

Linalee was a sweetheart; she was the kind of girl that could stick up for herself as well as defend others, but in the same token, she could brighten a room and comfort whoever was in need of it.

Lavi was a bit of a smart-aleck; he'd make comments here and there and would question the ways of the world. He was an amazing fighter, his hammer being only half of his skill. In a strange way, he knew what to say exactly when he should say it, and held a sort of wise aura about him even though he seemed immature at times.

When it came down to gender or appearances, Allen didn't mind either of them.

Lavi's jade green eye complimented with his black eye patch and ruby red hair made him very easy on the eyes, and a bit mysterious (what was under that eye patch, anyhow?). Linalee's silky black hair, even when chopped short and growing back in, complimented her dark eyes and slim face. It helped that she had long, lean legs that were shown off by her skirt. But it also helped Lavi to have the muscular torso that Allen envied a little.

It was between wanting to live and fight, and between one person and the other that Allen found himself in the middle of a rock and a hard place.

Personally, he preferred the rock. It was sturdy and reliable. It also had a partner in which Allen could share the good times and bad times with, someone who was tough enough to fight but chipper enough to help him live.

And that comrade was Lavi.

Unlike how things were with Linalee, Allen felt like he and Lavi were on an equal playing field. He also knew that even though they both held very strong feelings for him, Lavi was the one who he felt he could be with and know that they didn't expect anything from him except for his attention. With Linalee, Allen feared she would ask for more than he could give her. After all, he wasn't the best when it came to affection. Since Lavi didn't care, it only made his resolve that much more solid.

So there it was: if he had to be caught between two paths, he was going to follow the one with the redhead down it. Because it was the only thing Allen knew he could cope with best.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, this one isn't the best, but the next one - C is for Calloused - will be fantastic. Although I can't wait until I get to post "N"... you'll see why. X3**


	3. Calloused

**C –**_ Calloused_

What does it mean to be calloused? Some people think it means to be hard and cruel. Some think that it means to have rough patches of skin, usually on their hands and feet, from overuse. It's the body's way of protecting itself. But for Lavi, it meant something a bit different.

For the red-haired teen, being calloused meant to have an arm like Allen Walker's. His own arms felt brittle in comparison. True, Allen has had some problems with his arm in the past – disintegrating problems, thanks to Tyki Mikk, whom was one of the Noahs – but his arm was still a weapon through and through, and far more powerful than anything Lavi has ever seen. Even more so than his own hammer and elemental seals.

There was something about that oddly-colored, bizarrely-shaped arm of Allen's that intrigued the redhead. It made him curious; far too curious for his own good, it seemed.

For he began to wonder: what did it feel like? What would every little groove and like feel like under his fingertips? Would it taste the same as normal human skin? How are the transformations triggered? – Through emotion? – By thought? – Is it stimulated somehow, like through a physical hit? – Can it be triggered by a static shock?

Some of these thoughts were scientific and logical, and yet most of them were not. It made Lavi anxious, because he wanted very badly to test these ideas out, but knew that he couldn't.

But it doesn't hurt to ask, does it?

"Oi, Allen!" Lavi called out to the white-haired boy one day.

"What is it?" the other asked with a slight cock of his head. He had been reading up on something from one of the Bookman-made encyclopedias.

"May I look at your arm?" he requested with a nod to the left side of Allen's body. He twisted up his fingers in front of him. "I was hoping that I could do a little research on it, maybe write up a report to help us understand –"

"Of 'course you may," Allen replied with a small grin. "I don't mind."

Heart suddenly racing, Lavi smiled and sat down beside him. "Thanks."

Allen lifted his left arm and watched with curiosity as the redhead took the oddly-shaped limb into his hands.

It felt almost exactly how Lavi thought it would. Hard, calloused, cracking without being crusty or dry. He slid his fingers along the various drips and curves. "Can you even feel this?" It was so calloused under his touch that Lavi wondered if there were even nerve endings in it.

Allen scrunched up his face. "Almost. It's strange, because I can feel pain in it if it's in a certain state, and other times I only feel the pain afterwards. And as for brushes of contact… well, those are harder to distinguish."

"Interesting," Lavi murmured. He truly meant that word, too, even though other people used it politely as a replacement word for 'boring'.

The redhead continued to run his hands up the length of Allen's arm, adding a squeeze here and there to feel the oddly developed muscles beneath the surface. He brought the back of Allen's hand close to his face as he studied the cross there.

Allen made a noise, but then seemed to sigh. Lavi looked up at him. "What?"

"Er… nothing. It's just that, for a second there, I thought… I don't know… that you were going to kiss my hand…? Stupid, I know, but it crossed my mind."

Lavi chuckled. "And what if I did?"

"Then I would think there was something wrong with you." (Code for: _I would be extremely embarrassed._)

"Oh, really?" Lavi smirked, an odd glint in his eye. He had been curious what Allen's skin tasted like…

Allen gulped. He leant away, even though his arm was still caught securely in Lavi's grip. "You wouldn't."

"On the contrary," Lavi said as he held back another chuckle, "I'm curious enough to do it."

So he did. He brought Allen's wrist to his lips and pressed them against the rough, calloused skin. His tongue flicked out to taste it briefly. And that's when he realized that Allen's odd arm wasn't so odd after all. It was different, sure, but it tasted almost exactly like how a normal human's skin would, albeit a tad more metallic, as if there were specks of blood on it. Otherwise, there was that same nothing-taste laced with traces of salt.

"What the hell, Lavi!" Allen exclaimed in a shaking voice. He yanked his arm from Lavi's grip the second the redhead's lips had left his skin.

"Did you feel that, too?" he asked, trying to sound as though it were still part of his experiments.

"Yes, quite _clearly_, thank you!" Allen said in a low tone, his cheeks warm and pink. "You _licked_ me!"

Lavi's tongue had been all too recognizable, even through the pleasant touch of warm, soft lips on his nearly insensitive skin. He knew a hot, wet tongue when he felt one. He shivered in remembrance. No way, he told himself, could that have been scientific. Lavi was screwing with him like he often does.

"Not really," Lavi said in his defense. "I just touched my tongue to your anti-Akuma weapon to see if it was still the same as modified human flesh, or if it was metallic like a sword. That's all."

He was playing it off innocently with a nonchalant shrug, but Allen knew better. Lavi was trying to get a rise out of him or something. He should have never agreed to let the other inspect his arm.

Allen frowned and crossed his arms, the blush ever present on his cheeks. "No, that's not all. You just love messing with me, don't you?"

"Maybe a little," Lavi chuckled. "But you're so easy to mess with, so how can I resist?" While Allen turned his head in frustration, Lavi smirked again. He leaned in closer to the white-haired boy. "I had other reasons, though."

Allen didn't say a thing. If he simply ignored the redhead, he would lose interest and leave him to the studies he had been doing.

"Aw, don't be like that, Allen. I'm sorry. I guess I'm too curious for my own good."

"Humph," Allen grunted. "I guess you are."

"Can I make it up to you?"

"Sure, by leaving."

"But that's no fun!" Lavi protested with a pout. "Come on, I said I was sorry."

Allen sighed. "I'll forgive you if you promise not to try anything like that again."

Lavi knew what the white-haired boy meant; he meant, 'don't get me flustered like that again,' as well as, 'I don't want to mess up our friendship with actions like those.'

"I'm sorry, Allen," he told the younger teen, "But I can't promise you that." He knew he sounded just as calloused as the anti-Akuma weapon beside him when he said this, but he simply couldn't promise it. He liked Allen… _a lot._ And he didn't want to have to hold those feelings back all the time.

"Why not?"

Lavi leaned in once more and brushed his lips across the corner of Allen's mouth. "You know why."

With a gulp and a bright red face, Allen nodded. "Yeah… I guess I do know why."


	4. Damaged

**A/N: This is AU, but still takes place in England. **

**Warning: Not much fluff, a lot of (somewhat) gorey visuals, and depressing circumstances in the beginning. Just so ya know... **

* * *

**D –** _Damaged_

Lavi was tired of being yelled at and struck all the time. He hated his stepfather, and hated that his mother never had the guts to stand up for her son… or herself. Why did she marry that asshole, anyway? Was he nice before, and his recent intake of alcohol was the reason for his temper? Whatever the reasons for either question, Lavi didn't care. He knew one thing and one thing only: he had to get out of there.

He had to run. He had to leave that house, never to return. There was no way in hell that he was going to remain damaged forever.

Already that bastard of a stepfather had beaten him worse than he was supposed to; because of one bad fight that Lavi actually decided to reciprocate the attacks aimed at him, his stepfather managed to grab the kitchen sheers from the knife set. He tackled Lavi to the ground, restraining all his movements. And then… the man swung his hand downwards, using the scissors to stab, and stab, and stab, while Lavi screamed, and screamed, and screamed…

His mother hadn't been home that day. All Lavi remembered was blood running dark and thick beside him, getting into his bright red hair and on his clothing. He remembered howling in pain with his hand to his right eye, which was no longer an eye but a bloody, oozing hole. Lavi shuddered when he thought about what damage had been done this time; he knew the human eye, knew that it was composed of fibers and lenses and a gel-like liquid, and how thin and vulnerable of an organ it was. So for it to be not gouged out but poked into nonexistence as if a large bird of prey had swooped in and pecked his eye… well, it's pretty much self-explanatory.

The doctor had been given the explanation that a bird had in fact done it. The three of them – Lavi's mother, stepfather, and himself – hadn't mentioned the vast amount of liquor that the man of the house had drunk, nor how his mother hadn't been home and merely found her son on the kitchen floor, unconscious from blood loss, when she came home. They didn't mention the reason behind Lavi's other bruises. They simply paid for his surgery, which would take out the useless remains of his eye and stitch him up and give him a black eye patch he'll have to wear for the rest of his life, although the first eye patch will be made of gauze.

It was a couple years after this incident (when his eye was fully healed and he was now wearing the black eye patch) on which Lavi packed his bags one night and snuck out of the house. He had been fifteen, nearly sixteen, when he lost his eye. Now he was seventeen and read to leave the house.

The night was smoky and crisp. In the autumn air, Lavi could smell burning wood and damp fallen leaves. He walked in the peaceful silence of midnight with the cool air filling his starved lungs and calming his mind. Finally, he was free! He saved up money (and stole a little from his stepfather's wallet) so that he could afford a train ticket, food, water, and a few other necessities for at least a year, if he didn't blow the money on trivial things. He had gathered the money since he was about thirteen years old; that's four years of waiting to run away.

He went down to the train station near the river. There was a smiling young man, about thirty years of age, at the ticket booth. "Traveling alone?" he asked Lavi.

The redhead nodded. "I'm going to visit my Auntie Claudia," he fibbed smoothly.

"So late at night?"

"It'll be morning by the time I get there, so Mum told me to get an early start by leaving late at night."

"Ah, that's very clever of her," the man smiled. "Well, here's your ticket, then. Have a nice ride, lad."

"Thank you, sir," he said as he took the small slip of paper.

"If you don't mind my asking…" the man said slowly, "How did you lose your eye? I see you're wearing an eye patch, and I wondered…"

Lavi forced a grin. "Oh, that was me being foolish with my BB gun when I was younger. Seems you really will shoot your eye out, huh?"

The man grimaced before forcing a smile as well. "Yes, I suppose so. Be more careful next time, eh?"

"Oh, trust me," Lavi muttered as he turned, "I will be."

_There will be no 'next time,'_ he thought as he got on the train and the conductor punched his ticket. _Now that I'm finally on my way, that bastard won't get to hurt me anymore. There's no way in hell I'm going to let him completely blind me, or break a bone, or kick me in the kidney and make me pee blood for a week like I had that one time. No more. I'm sick and tired of being damaged. I want to be healed. And the only way to do it is to leave, so here I am! In your face, Stepfather; you have no longer have control over this seventeen-year-old._

Within half an hour, Lavi was asleep. Vaguely, he heard the sounds of the train riding along the track and of people getting on and off, and the low whistle sounding every so often alongside the soft _shhh_ of the billows of smoke producing from the chimney.

Lavi dreamt of calming scenes of softly falling snow and blue-grey skies. He was glad that he didn't have any of the nightmares he often had that involved splattering blood and echoing voices.

The conductor announced the name of the southernmost town in England, and this was when Lavi woke up with a snort. His final destination was here. The train came to complete stop, and with it, Lavi grabbed his suitcase and got off the train.

The sun was up by now, and the Pacific Ocean shone in the distance at the town limits. Breathing in the salty air and enjoying the call of seagulls, Lavi stepped off the threshold of the train station and headed into town.

Along the way, a couple merchants offered him sales on fish, bread, and other foods, but he politely declined. He wanted to find somewhere to stay, and perhaps later this week, somewhere to get a job. He was going to live here now; there was no way he was going to go back. He left his mother a note, and that's all he could do. After that, he was cutting his ties of his dysfunctional family.

Lavi headed into an inn and asked the keeper where the best homes to rest could be located, and if he could have a room until he found one. The elderly man who owned the inn understood about Lavi's situation. The old geezer had big, dark panda eyes and very little hair, but what he did have was gray. Exactly how old was he? Maybe if Lavi counted the wrinkles, it would be like a tree, and he could know how many years have passed by for this old man.

"Thanks, panda-man. I appreciate the info," he said with a smile.

The old man grunted. "Don't call me that, and we'll get along fine, boy."

Lavi chuckled. He started up the stairs to his room with the numbered key the man gave him, but after a second he asked, "Where's the library in this town?"

"You like to read, boy? You enjoy attaining knowledge?" the old man asked. He had a sort of gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, I do," Lavi said with a nod.

The old man cackled amusedly. "Then come with me. My personal library is far better than this measly town's. I'm a bit of a bookman myself."

"Really? Well, that certainly helps me out," Lavi grinned. He followed the man around back to the private living quarters of the inn. He was led into a study area where six large bookcases – impressively wide and tall – stood looming above him, filled with meaty tomes.

The old man pointed to a sheet. "My guests check out books with that. And then return them with it, too. It's a sign-in/sign-out sheet so that I know which books are missing. And if anyone steals from me… well, I have my methods of punishment." He smirked. "Well then, knowing that, would you like to come back down later and pick out a few books? But you should know that sometimes there are other people in here reading, so you best keep quiet. This is like a library as much as the public one on the other side of town."

"I understand, pand– I mean, sir. I'll behave," he promised.

The old man cackled again. "Good. I'll leave you to your business, then," he told the young boy. Then he left.

Content with his new living quarters for the time being, Lavi exited the room, went down the hall and into the lounge as he searched for the staircase. He spotted it and ascended to the upper level of the inn.

When he came to his room, Lavi got started on unpacking his things. It took him a while, but as soon as he was done he went back down the stairs for some lunch. He took the food from the cook and headed for the little library that the owner had. It was about one o' clock now, a good three hours since he'd last been in the room. "I wonder if anyone's down there," he muttered to himself as he took a bite of the sandwich on his plate.

As soon as he entered, he found the answer to that question.

There, in a chair between two of the bookshelves, was an old man. No, not an old man; true, his hair was a snow white and his eyes as blue-grey as the dream Lavi had prior to his arrival in this town, but the face was much too young to be a man's. He couldn't be more than fourteen or fifteen years old, about three years younger than Lavi.

He stared at the boy and blinked once or twice. "Excuse me?" he muttered. He had been eyeing a book he saw on one of the shelves when he first came to the library with the panda man, and now that he came to borrow it, he realized that he would need to move the boy in order to reach it.

The boy looked up and smiled warmly at him. Lavi felt his heart slow. "Hullo," said the boy. "I'm sorry, am I in your way?"

"Um… yeah," Lavi said slowly. "I want that red book behind you."

"Oh, this one?" the white-haired boy asked. He yanked the book off the shelf. He looked at the cover. "This is a classic; one of my favorites. Have you ever read it before?"

"No, but I've heard of it, so I want to try it out."

The boy smiled again. "You'll love it, I'm sure. Why don't you sign it out and come read with me?"

Lavi could feel his face heat up. No one has ever included him in anything before; all he's ever known was pain and damage. He smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks," he said as he took the book. Although he was thanking the boy for including him rather than handing him some ancient tome.

Once he finished scribbling out his name, the date, and title of the book and it's author, Lavi paced back toward the younger teen and sat in the comfy chair beside him. The boy glanced at Lavi from the side of his novel. "What's your name?"

"Lavi. And yours?"

"Allen. Allen Walker. My adoptive father owns the blacksmithing shop in town. Ironic, isn't it? We make horseshoes, mostly. Walkers for horses from the Walkers."

Lavi laughed. "That is pretty ironic."

"What about you? Where are you from? I've never seen you around here before," Allen remarked as he turned a page in his book.

"I just arrived today." He wasn't sure if he should use the same aunt excuse. Better not; it would be hard to explain why he was at an inn and not her home. "I left home."

"You look pretty young to be on your own," Allen said.

"I suppose," Lavi shrugged, "But I'm almost eighteen, so I figure it's alright."

"You're seventeen, then?" Allen asked.

Lavi nodded.

The younger boy smiled. "I recently turned fifteen. It's good to know there's someone near my age around here. Other than you, there's a girl named Linalee and a guy named Kanda, but one isn't very friendly and the other is too friendly." He chuckled. Then, he held out his right hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Lavi. I hope we can be friends."

Lavi grinned and gripped Allen's hand, which felt warm and soft in his. "I believe we already are, Allen."

Allen released the other's hand. "Well, if we're friends, then you should know the dangers of this town. First of all, don't ask for a job at our blacksmithing shop; I know you'll be wanting a job, but trust me, it's not safe." He lifted his sleeve and took off a glove Lavi hadn't noticed he'd been wearing to reveal a long, solidly burnt chunk of flesh with slightly demented fingers with blackened nails. There was a small cross-shape on the back of his hand. "I was working one day with my adoptive father, Mana, but I tripped on something – I am quite clumsy at times – and fell onto a row of coals were a sword with a cross handle lay. The handle made this mark into my skin, and the coals scorched my flesh. I had to dunk my bleeding arm into the barrel of water we usually use for cooling our metals." He sighed as he replaced his sleeve and glove. "It was painful, and it left my arm demented and damaged, but I learned my lesson: never help Father in the shop again!" He forced a smile to his lips and looked at Lavi. "So don't go making my same mistake, Lavi." Suddenly, he cocked his head. "What's the matter? You look like you're going to cry. If it's about my arm, I swear it's alright –"

"No, it's not that," Lavi said as he glanced away and wiped his eye on his sleeve. "Although I do feel awful about that happening to you." He sniffed once to clear out the rest of his tears. "It's just… I came here because I've been damaged, too, and I didn't want to be anymore."

"Damaged? How? It's not… You don't mean your eye, do you? I didn't want to ask, but it's been bothering me how you could have lost it when you're not of proper age to join the militia," Allen murmured quietly.

Lavi sighed as he returned his gaze to his new friend. "Unfortunately, I lost it because of my stepfather. He was a violent drunk, and one day a couple years ago he decided that I really didn't need both of my eyes."

"Oh… oh, my. I'm sorry, Lavi."

The redhead shrugged. "It's fine. I'm here now, and he's all the way in the north, so he won't find me. I'm safe here." He smiled. "I don't know if it's cruel or not, but I'm sort of glad that you got hurt; it's something we have in common, and it allows us to understand one another better in a weird way."

To his surprise, Allen grinned brightly. "You know, I was thinking the same thing. That's why I showed you my arm in the first place; I thought you'd understand what it's like to be damaged." He paused. "Well, for that reason, and because I really don't want you to work for us. It truly is a horrible job."

Lavi laughed. "Blacksmithing always had sounded horrible to me, anyhow. But thanks for the warning."


	5. Expectant

**E – **_Expectant_

With the way that Allen was leaning in so close to me, I was expecting him to kiss me. Or something along those lines.

We were in his room, leaning against the side of his bed. I was going over the details of a mission with him that we were to be sent on in a couple days. We have to go to Russia, and I don't even like Russia very much, but there's said to be a rise in Akuma activities, so we have to go.

"Um… Allen…" I breathed shallowly. His nose was centimeters from mine, and his bangs tickled my cheek because of the way they hung from his tilted head. His lips, inches form mine, were partially parted and looked really inviting. But I couldn't kiss him first! What if he didn't want to? But on the other hand, what if he was waiting for a sign from me because he thought that I didn't want to? Uhg, the possibilities…

"Yes, Lavi?" he murmured softly. He still wasn't pulling away, leaning to the other side, or standing up. I was truly expecting something to happen, so why wasn't it?

"Why, uh… why are you so close?" I asked. My brain had no other idea of how to hint.

"Do you not want me to be?" he whispered.

"No, I do, it's just… I dunno, with you this close, I'm half expecting you to, er, _do _something."

"Like what?" he replied. Unless my eye was deceiving me, he appeared to come the tiniest bit closer. "Are you expecting a kiss?"

I couldn't say anything. Not even nod. I was too entranced by his miss-matched gaze. His left hand came up, the glove over his deformed weapon touching the side of my face. I held my breath.

"Because I want to. Kiss you, that is. I don't know if you'll allow it. Will you?" Allen said so lowly and timidly that I almost didn't hear him

I gulped audibly before insisting, "No. Wait, _yes_! I mean…" I struggled with what I wanted to say. I closed my eye and sighed. When I opened it again, there was determination being sent directly into Allen's grey-blue and red-black eyes. "Kiss me, Allen."

He gave a faint smile, showing that this was all he needed to hear. He shut his eyes and leaned forward the last few centimeters that separated us. The second his lips touched mine, I expected gunfire to explode in my ears. I expected a shy tongue to flicker out and ask entrance. I expected the hand he had on my jaw to slide back into my vibrant red hair. I expected a lot of things, but what I didn't expect what was actually ended up happening.

_My_ hands flew to the back of Allen's neck. _My_ tongue slipped out and licked the seam of his lips. Instead of gunfire, I felt a bomb fall on my head, making me dizzy.

And what I expected least was how Allen managed to crawl between my legs and lean upward on his knees so what he could be slightly taller than what I was while sitting.

Sitting there, leaning against the side of Allen's bed with his mouth on mine, was probably the last thing I expected to come true from the dreams I had nearly every night. I have to say, though: it felt damn good.


	6. Facts

**F – **_Facts_

**These are the facts that everybody knows:**

1) Linalee, Lavi and I are all friends (and Kanda sort of is our friend as well, but not entirely because he doesn't act like it)

2) Lavi is very affectionate and flirtatious

3) Linalee is very kind and compassionate

4) Lavi loves to joke around and play pranks

5) Lavi shows interest in Linalee

6) Linalee shows interest in me

7) I only show interest in fighting and saving lives

8) Kanda shows interest in no one, although he doesn't like me much and gets annoyed with Lavi

9) Kanda and Linalee have known each other since they were kids

10) Komui is very protective of Linalee because they are siblings

**Now, these are the facts that only I know:**

1) I long for time to spend with my friends instead of fighting all the time

2) I work best under pressure, no matter what the situation

3) Komui worries that his sister will forget about him if she gets a boyfriend/fiancé/husband

4) Lavi doesn't want to be a Bookman's successor any more; he wants to live like a normal person and love

5) Linalee and I are slowly dying because I have a parasite anti-Akuma weapon, and hers evolved into the same thing

6) Kanda and Linalee balance one another out and make a fine couple if they only acted on their chemistry

7) _I want to be with Lavi_

8) Linalee and I are too much of people-pleasers to ask for what we want, including who we love

9) Lavi might be playing a joke or simply acting flirty when he's around Linalee and I, so he might not have interest in anyone

10) I'm going to leave these lists out in the open to see if anyone finds them, and if they do, what their thoughts are


	7. Ghost

**A/N: Okay, so, I've seen quite a few ghost!Lavi stories (and they are fantastic, might I add). I must admit, I was getting antsy to try my hand at a ghost story, only this time, I made Allen the ghost. And I put it in Lavi's POV in poem format. I'm a poet at heart, so I wanted to try it out. I liked what became of this, despite the depressing circumstances. Enjoy, and try not to cry! :D (I doubt you will, unless you're overly emotional. Personally, I'm as deadpan as Kanda, only much less heartless. XD )**

* * *

**G – **_Ghost_

I could see him floating down the hall

Pale face, bloody clothes, white hair and all

He was translucent –

I could see straight through

He was omniscient –

He could see and hear whatever I say and do

And yet this ghost

Is the remains of who I love most.

So whenever I can catch a glimpse of Allen,

It feels as though I've fallen

In love with him all over again.

One day, while the rain

Was pitter-patting against the pane,

I nearly went insane

When I heard him speak my name.

"Lavi?" he called out,

And I raised my hand to my mouth so I wouldn't shout.

He remembered me, I knew he did.

Finally, after over a year of being nothing but a numb dead kid.

"I'm here, Allen," I told him with a tear in my eye.

He touched my face. "Lavi, don't cry."

But how could I not?

After he got shot,

I thought that all was lost.

And then, a month or so later, I saw his ghost.

I had regained hope,

But all he did was float around and mope,

His facial expression lifeless and strange.

Yet it seemed that he was within range

Of perceiving his surroundings once more.

"Come, talk to me," I said with my throat a bit sore.

I looked at him and asked, "What do you remember?"

He made a funny face,

The kind of puzzlement I've missed around this place,

As he said to me: "After some time, now, it seems

I've been coming out of a world of dreams.

I suddenly have memories flooding back,

And filling the spaces that my consciousness lacks.

You were my friend,

And my lover,

Until the end;

And I was an Exorcist, and Akuma I did fight;

All while trying to do what was right."

"Good, good!" I cheered merrily.

"It seems what you remember everything," I said wearily.

"I believe I do," replied Allen's spirit.

But then he frowned at me.

"Although there is something I wish not to, and I doubt you'll want to hear it."

I asked, "What can it possibly be?"

His form wavered. "While I was lying with no where to go,

I went to a place called limbo.

There was a woman there with large wings,

And she told me a vast number of things.

Among those things was a law:

That I will remain a scrap of nothing,

A spirit rubbed raw,

Unless someone who loves me prays for something.

And I guess you finally did,

Because now I am rid

Of my hollow state."

I smiled. "That's great."

"But there is something else that she said,

That I fear will fill you with dread."

"Allen," I murmured, "You're already dead.

What else can you tell me that won't make me sadder than I've been?"

He sighed. "The problem is, I'll soon have to leave this scene."

I paused. My heart began to race.

"When will you have to leave this place?"

Allen touched his lips to mine,

And despite being chilly and airy, it felt just fine.

"When I hit the eighteen-month mark, I will have to move on."

"So we have five months together before you're gone?"

He nodded, and I couldn't help but break into a sob.

"I can't take it, Allen;

I lost you, and then my job,

And now this temptation comes to haunt.

This is not at all what I want."

With a hiccup, I looked into his eyes.

"After that last day comes, you won't be the only one who dies."

His mouth fell open and he gaped in wonder.

"Surely you don't mean –"

"Ah, but I do: I'll probably make my worst blunder,

But I need to be with you.

So I'll jump into the water and breathe it in

Until I turn blue."

Allen's ghostly mouth whispered,

"You're willing to kill yourself in order to be by my side?"

When I nodded, he sighed.

"I dislike the action of suicide."

"But I love you," I explained.

Outside, it still rained and rained.

After a crash of thunder, Allen accepted my words.

"Alright," he grinned weakly, "Then in five months, we shall fly off together as birds."


	8. Hold

**H –** _Hold_

"I don't want to go out there," the boy said in a hushed, scared whisper. "There are monsters out there."

"Akuma," the other boy corrected. "At least, that's what I heard they were called. But how can you see them? I can't. All I see is villagers."

The younger of the two shivered. "No, they're not all villagers. The monsters look like people, but they're not. They're big and ugly and scary… Please, Lavi-kun, don't make me go out there," the boy told his friend as he began to weep.

"Allen…" the other said softly. He sank down into a crouch, somewhat eye level with his white-haired friend. The younger boy was in fetal position, rocking slowly. He was terrified. "It's alright. I won't make you go out there. But what is it that you see? Can you show me somehow?"

Allen looked up at the other with tears in his eyes. He shook his head. "No… not unless you had an eye like me."

"Then is there anything I can do?" Lavi asked. He felt awful. They were the only two orphans in the entire house that have seen Akuma and know what they are. Lavi can't see them all the time like Allen can, but he had com into contact with exposed Akuma. The redhead wanted to be an exorcist one day so that he could destroy the creatures that stirred fear in his dear friend.

Allen nodded. "If you don't mind… could you hold me? Mana used to when I was little," he murmured. He felt embarrassed to ask this of the older boy, but he was desperate. His nightmares have been worse lately, and there was one Akuma who walked by the orphanage every day and always stared directly at Allen. He felt cornered and lost, and needed someone's arms around him to assure him that he was safe. He was an impressionable nine-year-old, after all. And Lavi was a big, strong twelve-year-old.

Seeing the needy, vulnerable expression on Allen's face, Lavi's heart dissolved into a pile of mush. He couldn't stand seeing the usually exuberant boy acting like this. "Of 'course I could," Lavi said firmly. His friend needed his protection, and he was more than happy to give it.

So the redhead crawled over to behind Allen and wrapped his arms around the boy, whom returned the embrace by holding feebly onto Lavi's overlapping forearms. Allen leant back onto Lavi's chest and squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to stop his crying and imagine that Lavi was a large barrier, a giant wall that could separate him from the monsters outside.

"Lavi?" he posed in a small voice.

"Yes, Allen?"

"Thank you," the said quietly. "For being here for me. I hate being this way, but if you saw the things that I do…"

"I understand," Lavi told him. "I think any kid who could see Akuma like you would be afraid. But let's make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"The life-long kind," the redhead replied with a teeny smile. He tightened his grip and lowered his head onto the white-haired boy's shoulder. "If you promise to become an exorcist with me and face your fears, then I promise never to leave your side."

Allen's mind raced as he thought this over. "So, when I grow up… you want me to fight monsters with you?"

"That's right."

"And, if I do… you'll be here to hold onto me forever?"

"Yup."

Allen smiled. "Okay. You got yourself a deal."


	9. Inquire

**A/N: This is AU and a bit crack-ish. Imagine a high school setting or something. I dunno, I've just always wanted a semi-innocent character to ask this. My other choice would have been Gaara; imagine him asking this of Naruto. It's been kinda done for them, and I gotta say, I laughed so hard. But i haven't seen this sort of thing for Allen and Lavi, so... XD**

**The other joke about this is the last line. It's how I found about the answer to Allen's question, and it also implies that Lavi has read... well, you'll see. ;)**

* * *

**I –** _Inquire_

"Lavi, how do you have sex?"

Upon hearing this inquiry, the redhead spit out all the contents in his mouth, which consisted of the juice he had just taken a rather large gulp of. The sweet, yellow-orange liquid sprays in all directions, just barely missing the white-haired teen who had asked the question.

Sputtering and coughing, Lavi chokes out, "D-don't you already know, Allen?"

The other rolls his eyes. "Having lived with Cross, of 'course I know how to have sex, but that's with a woman. I'm asking… how do you have sex with another man?"

"Wh-why would you want to know?" Lavi gasps as the remainder of the orange juice leaves his trachea.

Allen doesn't answer. He simply starts to stand. "Well, if you're not going to tell me…"

"Wait! It's just, uh, a little awkward, that's all. And why ask me, anyway?"

"I thought you knew everything, Bookman," Allen hints in a teasing tone. Secretly, he wants to know the answer to such a question because he wishes to eventually give himself to Lavi, if the redhead would have him. He is in love with the Bookman-to-be, and hopefully, he could confess sometime before he grew old and died.

"Uh-um, well, not everything, but… I guess I could tell you," Lavi says slowly and uncomfortably. "It's doesn't sound very nice, mind you. Do you still wanna know?"

Allen nods eagerly.

Sucking in a breath, Lavi also nods. "Okay, then. C'mere; I'll whisper it to you."

Tingling, the innocent boy leans in to the other and prepares to lose a piece of his innocence. Lavi's lips graze his earlobe and his warm breath encases his ear. Then, the sound of a whispered lecture drifts into the white-haired boy's mind. Steadily, his grip tightens on his pants and his blue-grey eyes widen. Yet Lavi keeps going, and soon Allen is regretting that he had inquired such a thing.

Finally, Lavi is finished explaining. He leans away and peers into Allen's face. "Are you okay, man? You look a little pale."

"Um… I'm fine…" he murmurs. He forces a lopsided smile to his mouth. "Just, uh, a little surprised."

A few moments pass.

"So, is that all you need to know, or are you curious about child birth, too?" Lavi jokes to lighten the mood.

It works. Allen chuckles. "Nah, I'm done inquiring about that kind of stuff. Although, if you don't mind my asking…"

"Hmm?" Lavi hums around another gulp of orange juice.

"How did you know about gay sex?"

Lavi nearly chokes again. He coughs three times before straightening himself. With an odd smile, he says, "Fanfiction."


	10. Juggle

**A/N: I wish I could juggle. We did it in gym back in middle school, and I never made it passed the practice-scarves. Which float like a boat on water, so they're really easy to catch and throw before hitting the ground. X3**

**

* * *

**

**J –** _Juggle_

Bored out of his wits, Lavi picks up two oranges and an apple from the kitchen and tosses them in the air as he walks back to the library. He really needs a break. Must panda-man work him to death? He's eighteen! Eighteen-year-olds should be free to do _as _they please, _when _they please.

Along the way, he bumps into Allen Walker; literally.

As he falls onto his bum, the oranges plop down in his lap. The apple flies off and lands conveniently in Allen's hand. The white-haired boy laughs. "What are you doing with these, Lavi?" he asks as he helps the redhead stand.

Lavi retrieves the fruits and tosses them in the air again. They get caught by his hands and thrown again, over and over in a circle above his head, and then interchangeably in front of him, and then on each side over his head. "Juggling, see?" he replies.

Allen raises an eyebrow. "I didn't know you could juggle."

"It's one of my many useless talents," the redhead grins. He throws the apple back to Allen. "Eat it, if you like. I can always get another."

Allen shakes his head. "Nah, not yet. Here, hand me those," he says.

"Are you going to try to juggle? I doubt you can; it takes a lot of skill, y'know? Plenty of hand-eye coordination."

Allen rolls his eyes. He motions for Lavi to hand over the oranges already.

"Fine, fine. Here, let's see you try," Lavi says cockily. He hands the oranges to Allen. "But I'm telling you –"

And that's when Allen proves him wrong by tossing the fruits around much higher and faster than Lavi had been able to do. "Throw me something else," he says with a smile.

Amazed, Lavi scrambles around. He sees two of the ball-shaped messengers similar to Timcanpi and rudely yanks them from the air and gives them to Allen. The white-haired boy chuckles and juggles the two along with the three fruits. Angry, the messengers zoom out of the circus act and grumble to themselves. As the final trick, Allen throws the three fruits up and opens his exorcist jacket like a basket, allowing the fruits to land safely inside.

Laughing heartily now, Lavi claps a hand on Allen's back. The fruits fall once more, but it doesn't matter. "Man, I was so wrong about you," Lavi was saying. "You're full of surprises, Allen."

Flushing slightly, the other tapped at one of the oranges on the rug on the hallway floor. "Only when I try to impress."

Lavi smirks. "You wanted to impress me?"

"Well, sure," he says. "It's not every day you meet another person who can juggle, and see them do it. So when you do, you have to show them up."

Lavi can't help but laugh again. He leans against Allen's shoulder. "See, it's that kind of attitude that makes me glad that you're my friend."


	11. Kite

**A/N: #sings the Marry Poppins song# "Let's go fly a kite, higher than the highest height~!"**

**I dunno what age they're supposed to be here. Obviously AU, and sometime during 'old' England, but I dunno what ages. Six and nine? Five and eight? All I know is, they have to be three years apart, and under ten. XD**

**

* * *

**

**K –** _Kite_

"Lavi! Hey, Lavi!" a young, cursed boy with white hair and a rust-colored arm yelled up at his friend's apartment window. "Come out and play, Lavi! I got a new kite! Mana gave it to me."

A boy that was slightly older than the other peered out of his window. The London sky above them was grey and threatening rain, but the wind was perfect for kite-flying. Lavi grinned. "I'll be right down!" he called back.

Within minutes, Lavi had his black jacket on and his lucky sneakers. He raced out the door and flew down the stairs until he was out on the cobblestone street with Allen beside him. They held hands and crossed the street together to go to the park.

Allen had his other arm around a gold-clothed kite with oak prongs and a tail with big white feathers like wings and a tiny brass cross hanging from it. "I named it Timcanpi," Allen informed the other as their shows met with the muddy grass of the park.

Lavi laughed. "That's a funny name for a kite."

Allen released his hand as they climbed up a stubby knoll. "Well, what would you have named it?"

"I dunno, the Golden Eagle?" the other suggested as they began to unravel the twine.

"Humph," Allen said stubbornly. "I like Timcanpi better."

Shrugging, Lavi changed the subject. "Do you wanna fly it first? It is your kite."

"Nah," Allen said as he passed the reel to his best friend, "I want you to."

"Yay!" the redhead cheered. He had hoped for this response.

He gave the goldenrod kite to Allen so that he could hold it up high while Lavi gained momentum. He sped down the hill, sprinting as fast as his little legs could carry him, while Allen slowly released Timcanpi. The kite soared into the air and took to the wind, spiraling a bit before settling. It's tail bounced and rattled, the thin cross at the end of it weighting it down slightly. As the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and illuminated the toy, it became quite the sight to behold.

"Wow, just look at it!" Lavi called. Allen clamored down the knoll to meet up with his friend, whom was trying to steady the kite and keep it in flight. "This is the coolest. I'm glad that you let me play with it."

Staring up at Mana Walker's gift, Allen smiled brightly. "Yeah, me too. I like seeing you happy, Lavi."


	12. Lenient

**A/N: This is a real drabble-drabble; it's basically me rambling on about leniency and blahblahblah. But the next two in this collection - M and N - will be comical and actual scenes between the characters. So, uh, stay tuned.**

**

* * *

**

**L –** _Lenient_

When it came to being lenient, not many people had the tendency to bend the rules or show vast amounts of compassion.

Komui didn't care; he was easygoing and could be quite lenient, but he had to be less-so for the sake of his job.

Kanda had practically not a speck of leniency; he liked things strictly one way or another, and didn't dabble much in merciful acts.

Linalee and Krory had quite a lot of leniency; they were compassionate in their own way, especially towards their friends.

Neither of them, however, was as lenient as Allen; he wished to save even the souls of the Akuma who were once people, and that sort of mercy takes a lot of leniency.

Yet out of every exorcist in the Black Order, however, Lavi was the most lenient, even if he didn't show it. And he didn't show it very often because, technically, he wasn't supposed to be so lenient; he was meant to be the next Bookman; an observer, a studier, a recorder. Nothing more. He wasn't supposed to care or feel or But Lavi wasn't your average Bookman. He was a joking individual; cocky, playful, constantly looking at what mattered in a moment, and not the past or future.

Inwardly, however, Lavi had a battle raging within himself. It was like there was two of him; one was the cold, distant, perfect Bookman; the other was his outer self that he showed from day to day, the version of himself that was everyone's friend. But the darker side grew rapidly, and finally showed himself when Rhode wove her twisted spell and made Lavi bury down deeply within himself.

He saw horrible things there. Nightmarish things that he's tried to keep from his dreams. He saw zombie versions of the people he knew, and despite what his other self tried to convince him of, people he cared about.

It still hurt and angered the redhead to know that he had allowed Rhode to play him like a puppet, his cold, cruel side exposed to Allen. He physically beat his friend, and for that, he could never forgive himself. He even hurt him after Allen had tried to talk him out of it with a one-armed embrace.

Although he played it off otherwise when they had lain side by side on the ashy ground at the end of the battle, he severely regretted the whole thing. He wished that he could go back and re-write what happened, if only to save Allen the grief.

On the other hand, however, he held leniency toward himself; he could forgive himself a little, because the whole experience had magically brought him and Allen closer together. So maybe it wasn't so bad, because now he could appreciate the soft, warm relationship he presently possessed with the younger white-haired boy. The friendly smiles and simple touches were enough to remind him that Allen was extremely lenient, too; he was able to forgive, and never forget so that he could cherish the outcome and not the battle itself.


	13. Master

**M – **_Master_

"Perfect twenty-one blackjack," I smirk in Lavi's general direction. I lay my cards down and give a broad gesture. "That's another round that I've won."

He groans and slams his cards down as I pull the candy towards myself. We had run out of money and didn't want to bet our clothes (because of something that happened last time…), so we decided to play our candy stashes. I never knew Lavi had so much. I hardly had any to bet! It's not a problem now, however.

"Why do I bother?" he grumbles. "I know you cheat, which makes this whole operation a scam. So why do I keep playing when you're a master at poker games?"

I chuckle a bit maniacally. "Because your ego causes you to try again and again in hopes of beating me," I explain as I shuffle the deck. "But you're right, I am pretty much a master; I learned for Cross's sake, after all."

He snorts. "That's true."

I start dealing the cards. "How about this? For this round only, I'll play fair and square. We'll raise all the bets and put them on the table. Now, if you manage to beat me for real without cheating – I'll be watching you, since I know every trick in the book – then you get everything. But if I win, not only to I get everything, but you'll have to call me 'Master of Cards' or 'Master of Poker' for a month."

The Bookman's successor grins devilishly. "You're on, Allen. But to make sure you haven't dealt yourself a winning hand already, may I shuffle and deal?"

"But if I let you do that, you could cheat in the same way," I reply. Honestly, he set himself up for that verbal trap.

Lavi sighs. "Look, if you don't trust me, then we might as well stop playing right now."

I bite my lip. But I don't want to stop playing… I like spending time with Lavi. So, I roll my eyes and give in. "Alright, alright. You win this argument," I mutter as I collect the cards and hand them to him.

He starts going through them one by one, looking for markings or missing cards. But all of them are there, and they're flawless. Nodding his approval, Lavi shuffles the cards with fast hands and throws them, back and forth between us, until we have ten each. "Gin rummy," he says. "We're going to play gin rummy this time."

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to play that?"

He lifts his chin in defiance. "Positive."

I smile and shake my head. Little did he know, gin rummy is one of my favorite card games. He's probably going to lose within half an hour.

…Or not.

As soon as we started playing, his poker face became either really good or he simply had a good strategy. As the game progresses, both of us turning cards over, discarding, and drawing, he gets more and more points. I feel like I'm losing my touch or something! He's not cheating, is he? Because if he is, he better know that he'll be getting the biggest noogie of his_ life_.

With a grin sharper and deadlier than any made by the Cheshire cat, Lavi flashes me a card. "I do believe this means I've beaten you," he says. "Who's the master of card games now?"

My mouth falls open in shock. Dammit, he really did beat me, fair and square! How is that possible? How could I lose?!

"I know you must be in shock, Allen," the redhead laments with false pity as he steals the candy back from me. "But you don't know how many games I've played of gin rummy against panda-man. It wasn't until a year ago that I was finally able to beat him; the old guy sure plays a mean hand of gin rummy, let me tell you."

Shaking my head, I lean back in the library chair and cross my arms. "Funny how I seem to have been conned when normally I con others; you didn't tell me that you were a pro at this game, and that put me at the disadvantage."

Lavi chuckles and he shuffles the cards and reties a rubber band around them. Tossing them onto the table, he walks over and plops down beside me. Now, the chair is made for one person, so as soon as he does this I'm squished between him and the arm rest. I squirm to fit more comfortably, but this only succeeds in making Lavi laugh harder and my body to sit partly on his lap.

The redhead's arms loops around me. "I'm sorry that I tricked you like that, but it was simply payback for all the times I was tricked by you," he murmurs into my ear. I can feel my cheeks heat up.

Elbowing him halfheartedly, I unclasp his hands and move to sit on the edge of the chair. "Fine, I'll admit that you had every right to get revenge, but couldn't you have done it another way?"

"You mean like… tickle you to death?"

And as he says it, his fingers reach out and attack my sides. I burst into laughter, but inwardly I'm getting annoyed. He knows that I hate it when people use my ticklishness against me!

We crash to the floor, somehow missing the table, and I'm pinned below him. Through teary eyes, I spot a little golden ball in the air. "T-Timcanpi, help!" I sputter through my giggling. Luckily, the little guy comes to my rescue and bites Lavi's sleeve.

"Ahh!" he yelps and rolls off of me, his arm flailing in the air. "Timcanpi, let go, let go! Come on, I said let go!"

I stand and wipe a tear form my eye. Satisfied that I'm stable enough to defend myself, Timcanpi releases his hold on Lavi's jacket sleeve and flies over to me. I hug him to my cheek. "Thanks, Tim."

Lavi clicks his tongue. "No fair, you can't call in reinforcements!"

I let out a short chuckle. "And you can never attack me like that again, O Master of Gin Rummy."

He grins. "No, you're right, I can't. But I love hearing you call me that. I'll have to remember to challenge you to gin rummy again some time."

"Sure, but I can't guarantee that I won't kick your ass at it next time around."

"We'll see, Allen, we'll see," he smirks darkly before turning around and strolling out the library door.


	14. Narrowminded

**N – **_Narrow-minded_

Lately, I've been having some problems. Some _mental_ problems. And no, I'm not going insane (at least I hope not), but the problem is that I can't stop thinking about someone. I'm afraid, because I find myself thinking the weirdest thoughts about this person; thoughts I never thought I could think, and yet here I am thinking them. It's _crazy_.

Now, the person that is making up my recently narrowed mind is not Linalee-chan, and it's definitely not Kanda. No, I'm thinking of someone else entirely, some I've gotten pretty close to in the past few months. It sucks, because as much as I try not to think about him, my thoughts come full-circle and are thinking of him again.

Yes, I just said _him_, and not _her_. This is why this is so crazy, and why I might be going insane: I think I might be in love with another guy. And he's a friend of mine, no less! I'm not even supposed to fall in love, being the next in line to be a Bookman and whatnot, but it's happening.

It's weird, I know. And totally opposite of what I'm used to, which are a bunch perverted men older than me hitting on the ladies all the time. And let's not bring up how flirty I get with everyone, because I think even more problems might arise with that (namely some accusations). So, um, let's move on to something else.

How about the weather? Or a new mission? Or maybe how close we are to getting some of the last Innocence out there? Or _food_! Food is always something good to think about.

Hmm, now that I mention it, I am pretty hungry. I should go see if I can get a meal from the cafeteria. Maybe that'll get my mind off of… No, don't even think his name, Lavi! If I do, I'll just start thinking about him again, which is completely unhealthy. I can't keep thinking about the same person all the time, it's not right.

Yeah, okay, so… put the dusty book down, stand up, exit the library, go down stairs and around a corner down a hallway, push open the cafeteria doors _(Be careful not to hit anyone that might be exiting on the other side!_ I remind myself) and then wait for the line to get shorter…

…Tch, I need to study that science crap panda-man assigned me later today…

…I wonder if I have laundry I need to do? Things could be piling up, and I just haven't noticed yet…

…Hmm, My thoughts are drifting. And I feel a little sleepy. Humph, must be all that reading I've been doing during so many late nights this week. It really wears me out.

…Oh, the line's shorter! Better get up there, now, and get in line before someone else swoops in. Mmm, today's special smells _really_ good…

…Hey, I wonder if _he_'llbe coming down here anytime soon? After all, he does have a big appetite…

"Dammit! There I go again!" I grumble aloud. Someone near me stares at me oddly. I ignore them and retrieve my food while my thoughts wander again.

Man, what is with me? This one-track mind stuff is getting old. Maybe if I go see him later on, my brain will stop picturing him all the time, and maybe if I talk to him, too, I'll stop thinking about him.

Then again, if I visit and speak with him, there's the chance that my one-track mind will only get worse…

"Uhg!" I grunt in frustration as I bang my head on the table, my food steaming beside me. I lift my head from the table and place my chin in the palm of my hand. I poke at the food on my tray with a fork in my other hand. Shrugging, I shove a piece in my mouth. "What's so special about him, anyway?" I ask myself as I chew. I swallow and take another bite. "I mean, I know I automatically wanted to be friends with him when I met him because of the aura I felt when I was around him. I know that I respect him since he's such a great fighter with lots of bravery, and he's irresistibly cute sometimes, but…" I pause as I stare off into space, my voice getting louder. "Maybe there's something else there."

"What else is where?" a voice says behind me, startling me. I nearly leap out of my skin.

"A-Allen!" I sputter, not at all expecting the person from my narrow mind's thoughts to appear from seemingly nowhere. "How're you?"

Yes, Allen Walker is the white-haired, younger teen that's been plaguing my thoughts day in and day out. He's all I think about, and some of my thoughts aren't as pure as others, which makes me feel embarrassed every time I see him in the halls. So seeing him right now when I was in the middle of verbally puzzling out the attraction I have to him… well, that's about as embarrassing as you can get, I bet. I just hope he didn't hear anything he shouldn't have!

"I'm fine, although I'm starving. Mind if I eat with you?" he requests with a small smile.

I soften. "Of 'course I don't mind. Have a seat." I pull out a chair and offer it to him.

"Thanks." He sets his tray down next to me and seats himself. His Exorcist coat is missing, I realize; he's in normal clothes, the kind barely any of us wear anymore. He rolls up his sleeves, and I notice – for once _really notice_ – how much his cursed left arm has changed since I first met him.

It's much sleeker now, especially compared with the painful-looking rough skin it had been composed of in the past. It's so strange, seeing his left side like that all the time… one eye different that the other, one arm and hand different than the other… it'd throw me off balance. I mean, sure, my eye patch makes me have one eye different than the other as well, but that's different. It's not like I use my right eye. But Allen actually uses his left eye all the time, and when that happens it looks completely separate, and almost demonic with it's coloring. It's weird; because Allen's normal eye color is that beautiful grey-blue of the sky after it rains. So how can one eye be so innocent-looking while the other is an Akuma-killer?

"Oi, Lavi, was your mind wandering again? You spaced out." Allen remarks with a playful smirk as he shoves a piece of food in his mouth.

I blink and force a smile. "Yeah, it was. Sorry." The funny part is, he doesn't know that I was thinking about him just now. "So, um, how have things been going for you?"

He rolls his eyes. "Komui-san is making me run around and do errands for him. It's annoying, but I guess they don't know what to do with me anymore."

I don't blame them. He's pretty powerful now that he can do whatever he likes with his parasitic anti-Akuma weapon. That Clown Crown thing in itself is pretty frightening. Totally awesome, mind you, but still pretty damn frightening.

"What about you?" he asks around another bite of food.

I shrug. "Nothing much, really. Panda-man seems to think I could still become a Bookman, but I don't have it in me. They're so distant, and I can't stand it. Observe, observe, observe… it's ridiculous! I'd rather join in with the group, you know? I don't care if I'm breaking some kind of ancient tradition; I want to be able to have friends and love and lose just like everyone else."

Allen nods in agreement with me. "I believe in that, too. I think we should be able to choose what we want from life, and live it to the fullest of our ability. That's why I want to protect and save everyone I can; I live my life through fighting. And then I can, I try to save the souls of the very creatures I'm fighting against. It's twisted, I know, but it's how I do things. And if how you want to do things is breaking some code, then you should. Do what you have to, Lavi, and don't let anyone tell you different."

See, this is one of the reasons why I accidentally fell for him: he's confident and determined, but also has plenty of weaknesses. He's younger than me, sure, but he's very mature in his thinking. I have a lot of respect for Allen. Plus, well, he's just so cute. He's kind of girlish, and it's attractive.

He cocks his head at me suddenly. "Lavi, why are you looking at me like that?"

Oops! Shit. I didn't mean to show any of my thoughts on my face. Hurry, Lavi, think of a way out of this… Oh, here comes Linalee! That works. "I wasn't looking at you like that, baka; I was looking at Linalee-chan." So I'm lying. It's not like I haven't fibbed before. "Oi, Linalee-chan! Sit over here with us!" I call to her.

She looks our way and smiles broadly. Unlike me, she's very open with her feelings towards Allen, so suddenly I regret calling out to her. Once she saw that I was next to him, she smiled in that way that all girls do when they spot the guy they like and conjure up ways to flirt with him. Yeah, I've made that smile on occasion when passing Allen in the hall or finding him in the library, but I never flirted with him publicly. On the contrary, I try to stop myself from flirting. Still, that doesn't mean I don't think about how I could woo him…

"Good afternoon, Allen-kun, Lavi-kun," she greets. She chooses the vacant seat across from Allen. "And look! I have my hair in a little ponytail today! It's getting longer."

Since her hair got fried off during that huge battle when we were out at sea, Linalee's been pretty depressed about it. She doesn't act like it most of the time – she treats it as if it was a small price to pay for saving a couple dozen lives – but you can tell that it really bothers her by the way she goes to flip it back and only stirs the air with her hand.

"Hi, Linalee-san," Allen grins politely. "How have you been?"

"Alright, I suppose," she replies shyly.

Ugh. Small talk. It's so boring…

"When do you think we'll get another chance to track the Earl?" Allen wonders aloud. He's mostly asking Linalee, since her brother's pretty much the top dog around here. There are still others above him, but not many. That lazy guy technically owns the place, and knows what's going on at all times.

"I'm not sure," Linalee sighs. "I'd like to know, too. It'd help."

It'd help as much as it would to know the date on which you were going to die. To me, talking about the Millennium Earl made for a bad omen. So I changed the subject. "I'm going to the library to study. I'll see you all later, unless you'd like to join me."

"I would," Allen pipes up. "I'm finished eating, anyhow."

Wait, that actually worked? Score! …But maybe winning Allen's undivided attention is a bad idea…

"May I join you two when I'm done?" Linalee asks with a vague pout in her tone.

Allen smiles warmly. "Of 'course you may. Right, Lavi?"

No, not right, Allen. I want you all to myself.

"Right," I agree brightly.

Dammit, why'd I say that for? Tch, it must be that face of his. You can't say no to a face like that.

"Ah, thank you!" Linalee says cheerfully. "I'll join you both in about an hour. I almost forgot that I have something else to do after I finish lunch."

Hmm, that's convenient. For me, anyway. Seems I will get Allen to myself for a while. That sounds awfully greedy of me, but I can't help it! I mean, couldyou help being greedy when you knew that you could spend time alone with the one person that's plaguing your mind?

Yeah, I didn't think so.


	15. Open

**O – **_Open_

Allen lied there, open and exposed. Blood spilled from his side, sickly warm and running crimson. It took all his remaining energy to retain consciousness.

It felt like an eternity until the voices and sounds registered in Allen's hazy mind. The first thing he heard was Lavi's voice; low, broken, wet. He was sobbing.

"All…en…" he was saying, "Allen, please, stay strong…"

Next, he heard Linalee and Miranda. They were above him, he noticed as he opened his eyes to look through bleary vision. Linalee was crying, too. And Miranda sounded numb with fear and worry. Linalee was saying, "I-I'm going to go get onii-san; he'll know h-how to close Allen-kun's w-wounds." She turned toward Miranda as she wiped at her nose. "Stall his blood loss a bit longer with your power, please."

Miranda nodded. She closed her eyes and clamped her hands over her ears so that she may concentrate.

Allen stared up at Lavi, his green eye and red hair bright in the enclosing darkness of his coma-to-be. "Lavi…"

"Allen!" the redhead gasped. He reached for Allen's hand. "You're still conscious?"

"For now…" the white-haired boy breathed. His mouth tasted of blood, and his throat felt sore. "Listen to me, Lavi… there's something I need to say…"

"No, Allen," Lavi protested, his tears slowing. "Save your energy. Please, you'll need it. Komui will be here soon."

If it was any other time, Allen would shudder at the thought of Komui and his scary healing tactics. But not this time. This time, he wanted to see Linalee's quirky older brother; he knew that, if no one else, Komui could get him back from the brink of death. He and Nurse both.

"Lavi, if Komui doesn't… get here in time… I need to tell you this before I –" He cut himself off. He didn't want to say the word 'die'. Dying was not an option. Not yet. Not at age sixteen, with so much of a future ahead of him. Allen has nearly died a couple times, but this was probably the worst.

"I understand. I'm listening, Allen," Lavi choked out. "I'm here for you."

"I love you," Allen whispered. He had to let the Bookman's successor know what he felt. If he didn't, he would regret it. "You've meant so much to me, as a comrade and close friend," he continued, his words weak and slow-coming. "I just want you to know that."

Lavi's face was the perfect image of a merge between shock and affection. His eye softened, the other blocked by his eye patch, and yet Allen knew that the other eye – if it was there – was just as teary and tender. The redhead leaned in close and kissed the corner of Allen's mouth. He didn't want to kiss right on it for fear of cutting off the younger teen's air supply. "Allen," he murmured, "I love you, too. I always have."

"A-always?" Allen coughed. He closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed as he tilted his chin back. A serge of pain shot through his body, coming from his open wounds. But there was something else out in the open now: the truth.

Lavi nodded and brushed some of Allen's bloody hair from his face. The boy's eyes opened at the touch. "Ever since I met you, I knew there was something special about you. And as I got to know you, my suspicions were confirmed. But… it wasn't until we were inside the ark that I really fell in love with you." He bit back another round of tears and sobs. "I… I'm so sorry about hurting you back then. God, if I knew you'd be dying now, I wouldn't have –"

"Shh," Allen mumbled, "It's alright… I already forgave you…" He coughed again, more pain coating his senses temporarily. He took in a sharp breath.

"Allen!" Lavi exclaimed worriedly.

Allen's eyes filled with tears. "I don't want to die, Lavi. Please… don't let me die yet."

"I won't," Lavi vowed. "I won't let you die. Now that I know how you feel about me, I…" He shook his head. "No. You're not dying. We have to stop talking like… like this is the end."

Torn open and bleeding out his life sure made it seem like the end, however. And Lavi knew that if Linalee didn't hurry, Komui wouldn't get there in time. These two facts made Lavi's choice apparent: he had to save Allen himself.

Determined, Lavi scooped up his love and cradled him bridal style to his chest. "I got you, Allen."

"Lavi…?" Allen murmured confusedly.

Miranda jerked her head upwards and uncovered her ears when she felt the rush of movement. Her concentration broken, Allen howled in agony. She quickly squinted her eyes and focused again, but there was a question on her lips. "What are you doing?"

"We have to move, Miranda. We have to get Allen to safety. He's in peril just lying here, and his wounds aren't holding up well. We can't wait a second longer for Linalee and Komui to get here; we have to go ourselves."

Nodding, Miranda didn't dare protest. She tagged along behind the two and kept her mind on suspending Allen's wounds in time to make the level of blood loss further from being completely deadly.

They found a hospital about a mile away and got Allen in as soon as possible. They didn't explain his Akuma-inflicted injuries, nor did they specify why his left arm had the appearance that it did. They simply got him in a ward and a trusted doctor to sew up his wounds.

While Allen was in urgent care, Lavi paced wildly back and forth down the hallway outside of the waiting room. He nibbled at his cuticles, his own minor wounds already patched up with fresh gauze.

Miranda sat glumly in the waiting room, her head bowed and her fingers twisting in her lap. She wished she could have been of more help…

A doctor stepped out of the urgent care room and approached Lavi. The redhead eagerly awaited the news as he stared at the doctor.

Slowly, the man in white scrubs smiled. "Your friend is going to be fine. He needs to rest, but he'll be back on his feet in no time. He just can't do any strenuous activities for a while."

Lavi began to cry and laugh at the same time. "Thank God!" He ran off and told Miranda, whom cried and laughed in relief with him.


	16. Pirate

**A/N: This is a 'what's under Lavi's eye patch?' fic. Kind of amusing, and a little sweet, huhu. Enjoy~!**

EDIT: Oopsie!! I totally didn't know this, but apparently someone else already thought of this idea; not exactly the same, but similar enough that I feel bad. In the second chapter of _Transcending Time_ by Dhampir72, **she mentions that Lavi's eye is 'discolored and blind'. Which is kind of what I did in this fanfic. Um, I want you all to know that I didn't know about this fanfic until AFTER I wrote this drabble! So, um, no one get bad at me, please, because techinically I didn't steal it since I didn't know... D:**

**Extra note: If you don't get the 'rabbit' jokes, they're based off of Lavi's name. In Japanese, a lot of Ls and Rs, as well as Bs and Vs are interchangable (for Romaji, the English-lettered version of their words). So his name could be Rabi, which obviously looks like 'rabbit'. Sometimes, his anme is even spelled as 'Rabbi', but that spelling looks like some Catholic priest's job title to me. Personally, I use the spelling L-A-V-I because that's how it sounds when said aloud in Japanese. **

**P – **_Pirate_

"Hey do you know what I realized, Lavi?" I say as we sit and talk together. We're taking a short break from setting up camp; there isn't a hotel around, because we're in the country currently. Our destination is a small village in southern Italy.

"Hmm?" he responds as he closes one eye and leans back against a stack of firewood for tonight. Krory and Linalee are gone at the moment, looking for a nearby house to ask directions from. We're a little lost.

I smile at him and touch (or poke, rather) his eye patch. He opens his other eye as I inform him, "I've always thought that this makes you look like a pirate! Why do you wear it, anyway? Is your eye injured or missing?"

"Neither," he grunts as he sits up. "It's blind, and looks unnatural."

I cock my head at him. "What do you mean? My eye looks unnatural sometimes, but –"

He waves his hand. "I mean it looks cloudy and bizarre. Since it's useless, I cover it up. It's no big deal."

"Can I see it?" I whisper. I'm so curious, I almost can't contain it. "How did it get blind?"

He sighs. "I'd rather you not. And, for your information, I was born with it blind."

"That's pretty sad, Lavi," I tell him. I look more disappointed than sad, though. I really want to see what it looks like. Does his eyelid droop? Is his pupil filmed over? Is it still green like this other eye? Is there a scar there from something that happened when he was in the womb? Maybe his mom fell down a flight of stairs. Or maybe she was a drinker. Nah, not a drinker; if she was, Lavi wouldn't be half as intelligent as he is. Still, it's an interesting thing to wonder…

Hold on. What if I tackled him and took off the eye patch? Then I could find out what it looks like, and maybe then he'd explain a bit more. Plus, No one's back yet, so…

Smirking the way I do when I play cards, I lean in to Lavi slightly. He blinks and I think he's blushing a little, but it could be the sun. "You know, I will eventually find out what it looks like under there…" I hint. Before he can answer, I grab his arms and force my weight on him, ultimately toppling us over and pinning him to the ground. "…And I think I'll find out this very second!"

"A-Allen! Get off me!" Lavi shouts as I maneuver my legs around him to trap his arms and free my hands. There's no doubting the flush now; it's quite obvious with the deep shade of pink that it is. But everyone gets a little blood rush to their face when they're pinned, right? Gravity and pressure and whatnot.

"Not until I see what's under your eye patch," I reply, my fingers twitching. He's about to protest some more, but I'm too quick. I tug off his headband and lift the patch from his eye, and in one smooth gesture I tear it off his head. He squeezes his eye shut so that I can't see what his right eye looks like. "Lavi, come on…" I plead. "Open your eyes. If you let me see, I'll get off of you."

Reluctantly, he unclenches his lids and flutters them open slowly. I hold my breath in anticipation.

I gasp and reel back from my bent over position. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen: his eye looks completely normal in structure, and yet there's a large birthmark over his brow and eyelid, spilling out onto the top of his cheek. Then his iris is a pale, milky green, almost to the point of being grey. And his pupil… I can't even see it. It's hardly there, just a slightly darker circle in the middle that doesn't contract when it meets the light.

My guess is this: while in the womb, his head leant against his mother's uterine wall for far too long and caused his right eye to stop developing, and the part where his head met the wall is where the brown birthmark was formed, forever dying his skin.

"Satisfied?" he pouts beneath me. "If you are, then would you kindly remove yourself from my waist?"

"Oh… yeah," I say on both accounts. I roll off of him and watch him sit up to replace the black cloth over his eye.

He crosses his legs and glances over at me. "Why did you have to go and do that, anyhow?"

I wince. "I'm sorry. Are you mad at me?"

He chuckles, an odd smile on his mouth. "Mad? I could never be mad at you, Allen."

I'm not sure how to take that, so I decide to joke so that I can laugh with him. "At least I know the truth now, Rabbit-Pirate."

His left eye twitches. "What did you just call me, Bean Sprout?"

Ah, back to normal already. I punch him lightly in the arm. "I'm not short! You and Ba-Kanda never let up with that!"

"I'll let up if you stop calling me a rabbit," he retorts with shove to my shoulder.

I grin. "But I'm allowed to call you a pirate?"

He rolls his eye. "Pirate is better than some cute, fluffy animal."

"But you are a cute, fluffy animal," I tease as I grab his cheek like an over adoring aunt.

He smacks my hand away and rubs his cheek, the blush back; and not just because I pinched him, either. There's some other reason, although I can't pinpoint what it is…

"God, Allen, there's no getting along with you, is there?"

"I get along better with you than I do with most anyone else," I point out. I thoughtfully tap my chin and look up at the sky for a moment. "But why is that? I've fought with you before, and we've make fun of each other a lot." I stifle another bout of laughter. "But I guess all pirates are like that, huh?"

He shoves me again. "Quit that, will you? It's getting annoying. You know what my eye looks like, and yet you still want to joke about my eye patch? That's cruel."

"No, what's cruel is Kanda's glare."

My comment works; he laughs. "Ah, true. There's nothing crueler than that." Lavi leans back once more and closes his eye. "Fine, I'll let it slide. So long as you don't tackle me again."

"Why not? You too embarrassed that someone three years your junior was able to take advantage of you?" I reply cockily.

He flashes me a grin, his eye reopening only to close exaggeratedly again. A wink. "Nah, it's because I won't be able to control myself next time."

"Huh?" I don't get it. What does he mean, 'control' himself? Is he saying that he has the strength to overpower me in a wrestling match and yet didn't? Unless he means that he…

Hmm. That might better explain the blushing.

The redhead chuckles and resumes his attempt to nap. "Forget I said anything."

Tch, what an uncanny rabbit-pirate. I have a feeling that I'm missing out on a clever prank, and it bothers me. One of these days, I'm going to confront him about all this. But for now, Linalee and Krory are returning, and we have a mission to carry on with.

* * *


	17. Quiet

**A/N: This is another AU one. I like those for drabbles; there will be two more of them for V and W, which are right in a row, I know, but that's just how it worked out for the words/ideas that I chose. The next drabble might be a songfic, although it might not be. We'll see~**

**

* * *

**

**Q –**_ Quiet_

Allen Walker was on the last train back to his hometown. He chose one of the nicer cars, the ones with the big, soft benches that face in on each other, a large window with a ledge beneath it parallel to the sliding door that leads into the aisle. He chose this compartment on the train because the bench was just long enough for him to lean his head against the window and cross his legs in front of him so that he may sleep part of the way. It was a long ride to be sure; about two days, give or take a few hours.

Within the first hour of being on the train, Allen had already read half a novel and was beginning to get drowsy. However, he couldn't fall asleep just yet, even though the quiet atmosphere around him begged him to. No, he couldn't sleep, because just as he was lying down, a knock came to the sliding door and a red-haired boy about his age popped his head in.

"May I sit in here with you? All the others are full or have rude people who don't want to share their compartment."

Allen was a very cordial individual, and had no problem with people his own age. So he nodded. "I don't mind sharing. You can have the other bench; it's not like I'm going to use it," he told the other.

The redhead smiled. "Thank you," he murmured. He shoved a trunk above the door before he entered and seated himself. He automatically reclined back on the bench like Allen had been doing, only the redhead put his hands behind his head. "So, what's your name?"

The quiet atmosphere, Allen soon realized, wasn't going to come back. This boy seemed like the chatty type. "Allen," he replied. "My name is Allen Walker."

"I'm Lavi," the other said. "Although I won't bother with my last name. I don't know it."

"You don't know your last name?" Allen asked dubiously. How can someone not know their last name?

Lavi shrugged. "It was never important. I'm an orphan, so last names are shady. Unless you take the name of the headmaster or a few family, you don't have a last name. Not when you're found as a newborn like I was."

"Oh… I'm sorry," Allen said, not knowing what else to say.

Lavi laughed. "Don't be. I'm used to it." He glanced over at Allen and noticed the novel at his feet. "What are you reading?"

"_Wuthering Heights_," Allen replied. "My friend, Linalee, introduced me to it. She said it was a good read, although rather twisted."

"That it is," Lavi grinned. "I've read it. Along with many other books. In the orphanage, all there was to do was read. I'm quite the book man," he joked. He turned his eye – for the other was behind an eye patch, partially covered by his shaggy red hair – on Allen and asked, "Do you read a lot, Allen?"

The white-haired boy nodded. "I do. I love to read."

Lavi resumed his stare at the ceiling of the train. "That's good. Most of the people I meet are too busy to read, but I think that's a shame. Reading enhances your intelligence by broadening your vocabulary. It also makes you more sympathetic for others with situations similar to book characters'. Don't you agree?"

Allen nodded, a smile forming. "That's always what I thought!"

"Finally, someone who understands!" Lavi chuckled. He paused as he glanced over at the other. "If you don't mind my asking, where are you headed?"

"South of London," Allen replied. "My father recently died, so I'm going to stay with a man named Cross. He's a general of some sort, although a rather aloof one. And you? Why are you on this train, Lavi?"

The redhead sighed. "I was tired of living like a nomad, moving place to place because I was a prankster of an orphan, making me trouble to whatever family fostered me. Now that I'm eighteen, I've decided to take care of myself by getting a job and a place of my own."

"I can't do that yet," Allen grunted as he crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm merely fifteen."

Lavi looked taken aback. He jerked his head in the other's direction. "Fifteen? And here I thought you were much older because of your white hair! You certainly act older. But now that I look at you, you can't be older than me like I had thought. You're just a naïve little thing, aren't you?" he smirked.

Allen was offended. "That was very impolite of you to say," he scolded. "I know my white hair is strange, but I don't like being called old; nor do I like being thought of as some young fool. I might be younger than you, but I'm not naïve. I assure you I'm just as experienced with the ways of the world as you are."

"Oh?" Lavi inquired. "Are you bluffing to impress me and defend yourself, or are you serious?"

Allen frowned. "Of 'course I'm being serious. But you're not a very serious person, are you, Lavi? I'm bet I'm much more adult that you are. After all, you have your ears pierced –"

"Did it myself when I was thirteen, thank you."

"– And you even admitted to being a prankster when you were younger. Now, that doesn't have the makings of a very serious or mature adult," Allen relayed stubbornly.

Lavi chuckled. "You have a point. But I also told you that I read a lot. And only serious, mature people study and take the time to read, correct?"

Allen hesitated. The redhead had a good point. He sighed. "Correct. I give in, then. Shall we settle for, 'we are both equals'?"

Lavi smiled. "Sounds good to me."

The white-haired teen slacked his tense shoulders. He's never quarreled with someone like this before, and now that it was over, he almost felt like laughing. He liked this Lavi character, whoever he may be. He hardly knew him, but something in Allen made him want to get to know the redhead better. He wanted to befriend the other teen, and hoped that maybe they were headed for the same place. That way, he could meet with the redhead every so often and chat. Who needed the quiet silence? Allen had too much of that in the past. It was nice to talk to someone for once, with the exception of Allen's golden-furred kitten, Timcanpi.

"Lavi," he posed after a few moments, "Which stop are you getting off at?"

"Don't worry," Lavi responded casually, "I'm getting off at yours. Originally, I was going to choose a random stop that whatever town looked best, but so far you're the only person I'll know anywhere, so I figure I might as well leave the train when you do. South of London… that's one of the last three stops, I'd imagine."

Allen was shocked. This stranger also wanted to build a friendship with him, and was willing to get off at the same town to do it? Somehow, that was the kindest thing anyone had ever said to him. He smiled widely. "It's the second before last stop, actually. And you know, Lavi, it's pretty bold of you to want to live in the same place as a stranger you met on the train."

"Ah, but because I met you, it makes you not a stranger to me," the redhead retorted with a blink of his eye, similar to a wink.

The white-haired teen laughed. "I suppose you're right," he said. He liked Lavi. The guy was quirky and fun to argue with. He had a feeling that the two of them would be very good friends.


	18. Rain

**R –** _Rain_

The way it fell down in sheets made Lavi wonder how many people on average would get sick from standing out in it. And, judging by the temperature, how long it would take before hail crystals formed. It was all math and science, stuff that he was forced to study and think about and sometimes jot down.

While looking out the window, he spotted a figure running into the tower's main entrance. For a few seconds, he saw silver hair shimmering in the sun that tried to peek from behind the storm clouds. It was Allen.

Smiling, he raced down to the lobby in time to see Allen shaking off as much rain as he could from his jacket. Two of his friends were already there to greet him, Krory handing him a towel and Linalee approaching him with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. As the redhead stepped closer, he could make out the lingering droplets on Allen's hair and the way his wet shirt clung to his skin.

When he was within earshot, he heard Linalee scold the white-haired teen. "You should've been more careful, Allen-kun! You could've caught cold! Miranda-san thought you might, so she made you some tea."

"If he hasn't gotten a cold already," Krory added sadly. "Are you feeling well, Allen?"

"I'll be fine," he told them both, although Lavi could hear the congestion in his tone. He was lying; all the signed pointed to sickness. When Lavi came into view, Allen's head immediately jerking in his direction. The younger boy smiled. "Lavi!" he exclaimed happily.

"Long time no see, Allen," the redhead replied with a small grin. "How was your trip?"

Allen rolled his eyes as he took the tea from Linalee and came over to his lover for a proper greeting. Being careful of the mug in his hand, Allen brought his arms up around Lavi's shoulders ad hugged him tightly. "It was all right. But I missed you, and that made it not as pleasant as he could've been."

Lavi returned the hug with a chuckle. "You're getting me wet from the rain on your clothes," he told the other.

Allen flushed slightly and pulled away. "Sorry."

Lavi grabbed the towel from his lover's hand and wiped at his face and hair. "It's alright. Come on, let's go get you something dry and warm to wear. You have a cold –"

"I do not!" Allen lied.

Lavi ignored the outburst. "– And I don't want it to get any worse. Drink that tea on the way up; it'll help."

"Do you want me to bring up some extra blankets?" Linalee put in.

Lavi nodded. That would be wonderful. Thank you, Linalee-chan."

She smiled cutely, her short black hair falling onto her face as she tilted her head to the left and brought her hands together in front of her. "It's no problem. I want to help as much as I can."

"I appreciate it," Allen told her. He then turned toward the stairs and took Lavi's hand in his, the fingers lacing together. Following a sip of herbal tea, he asked, "What were you doing while I was gone? Has anything happened?"

The redhead shrugged. "It's been pretty boring. Panda-man had be working double-time to make up for all the days that I've done nothing but spend time with you. Speaking of which… will more of those days be coming up soon?"

Allen sneezed. Sniffling as he wiped his nose, he nodded. "Sure, as soon as I'm healthy again."

"So you admit to having a cold?" Lavi joked.

The younger teen sighed. "Yes…"

Lavi's chest puffed up. "Don't worry, Allen! I'll take good care of you."

"I don't doubt that," Allen chuckled. He drank more of the tea. They came to his room. As he started to walk inside, he stopped Lavi. "No, you're not coming in. I have to change everything, including my, er, undergarments."

The redhead smirked devilishly. "You don't need to hide form me, Allen. I've already seen your interesting areas. Besides, what if you get a fever and pass out and then –"

"Uhg, fine! Come in, then," Allen grumbled. "There's just no use arguing with you, is there?"

The redhead grinned more as he shut the door behind him. "No, there isn't. You have the rain to blame, though; because now I have all sorts of logical excuses to be by your side."

"Stupid rain," Allen murmured as he set down his now empty tea mug and dug around for a shirt to wear.

Lavi dug in a lower dresser drawer for some pants. Laughing, he replied, "Actually, I'm quite grateful for it."


	19. Suppose

**S –** _Suppose_

"Lavi, there's something I need to ask you," Allen begins slowly. His tone is measured and on the brink of being nervous. Beneath his white hair, his ears are burning as red as his comrade's hair.

"Need? It's not something that you want to ask?" the junior Bookman inquires with an amused sparkle in his emerald eye.

Allen nods his head. "Yes, it's something I need to ask. It's very important for me to know."

The amusement leaves Lavi's gaze. In an instant, he's serious, although the cock of his eyebrow indicates that he's mildly curious. "If it's so important, then I'm all ears. What's on your mind?"

The white-haired boy takes Lavi by the wrist and leads him into a nearby room so that no one will overhear them. When he releases the older boy's wrist, he looks confused. Allen ignores the expression, knowing it will simply get worse when he spills the words that have been building up inside of him for a couple weeks now.

Allen takes a deep breath. Then, all at once, the words come pouring from his lips. "Suppose that I loved you… what would you do?"

Lavi blinks a couple times. "…What?" he poses in a whisper, his tone bewildered.

Allen's gloves make a strained noise as he clenches his fists tighter. "I know you can't hold feelings for anyone because you're meant to be the next Bookman, and I know that it's strange for me to choose you above someone else, but it's hard for me to keep it in any longer, Lavi," he relays as he brings his grey-blue eyes up to Lavi's. "So I need to know: if I were to say that I loved you, what would you do?"

Steadily, a vague smile lifts the edge of the redhead's mouth. "If you were to say that," he says delicately, "Then I suppose that I would have to throw away my resolve to bury the feelings I've been having directed towards you since the Ark."

Allen's mouth falls open into a breathless gape. Lavi has loved him in return since that long ago? "Lavi…"

The redhead cups Allen's chin in his hand. "Since that time, I knew it was impossible to live up to Gramps' expectations of me. I can't tear to shreds the only bonds that matter to me to achieve some stupid heightened sense of self. That's just foolish, don't you think? It'd be like being inhuman."

He leans in and kisses the white-haired boy's lips. They're smooth and much plumper than they look.

Distantly, Allen wonders why this hasn't happened earlier. It feels secure and fitting to be in Lavi's arms, their lips melding together. He's suddenly glad that he had collected the courage to confront the redhead about his feelings. Despite the time of crisis around them, Allen supposes that things could only improve from here.


	20. Teetering

**T –** _Teetering_

"Allen!" I shout in fear as I see him slide toward the cliffside.

He's merely centimeters from the edge, a level three Akuma in front of him. He has his Clown Crown form exposed, his left arm transformed into a giant sword within in right hand. He vanquishes the demon with a show of force and light struggle. But I notice that the force has him losing his balance, one heel sleeping off the edge.

"NO!" I call into the open air as I turn from my own opponent – a level two – and sprint towards him.

The sword weighs too much; it's going to cause him to topple over. I charge at the ground and slide on my stomach to catch him, because he's already flailing backwards over the rim of the cliff. He shoves his sword quickly back onto his arm, turning it into a relatively normal-shaped limb. But as he does this, his footing is lost, and he's seconds from soaring straight down, the crashing sea below him.

As if in slow motion, I can see each terrified expression cross his face as he teeters on the edge and tips back, his arms spread like angel wings on either side of him.

I dive over the edge, my left hand clasping rough skin; his left wrist. He cries out in pain, the sudden jerk following such momentum causing his wrist to sprain. But I don't care; so long as I have him attached to me and his wound is easily healable, nothing matters.

The sweat on my palm makes my grip on Allen's wrist weaker. How long can I hold on before I drop him? Or worse, how long before the number two I was fighting decides to attack and send us both to our deaths?

Luckily, I hear grunting behind me. Looks like Kanda finally showed up. The familiar sound of his Mugen slashing against air and Akuma flash reaches my ears, but I'm barely aware of it. All I see is Allen's flushed face, his teary eyes focused solely on me.

"Lavi," he murmurs, "Don't let go."

"I won't," I promise wholeheartedly. "I won't let go of you, Allen."

"But my hand! It's slipping…" he says in a shaky voice. And it's true; I can feel my grip loosen as I, too, start to teeter off the cliff, my boots desperately digging into the rocky soil behind me to try and prevent our fall.

My grasp is reduced to our fingers alone. I can feel his heartbeat drumming all the way to his fingertips. I bite my lip hard, the muscles of my upper arm starting to spasm from the heavy load at the end of my hand.

"Lavi…" Allen says fearfully, "You can't pull us up, can you?"

No, I can't. The setup is all wrong, and I'm too weak from my previous battling to haul him up my by myself. I shake my head minutely. "No, but Yuu is here now. He'll help us. And if he doesn't… I still won't let go."

"But then you'll…!"

I smile sadly. "Fall with you? Yes, I will. But I don't mind, Allen. I care about you too much to let you die before me."

He frowns and yells up at me, "That's idiotic! You're not going to kill yourself just because I die! You have to keep on living, Lavi!"

My smile grows, the same sadness lingering behind it. "There's no life without you, Allen. If you go, I'll go, too, even if I live. I'll be hollow."

His facial expression changes. "What are you saying?"

"Surely you're not… _that _dense, bean sprout," I grind out between my teeth as my hold on him slips a little more, the weight seeming to increase. Dammit, where's Kanda? Doesn't he know that we're over here in need of dire help?!

Allen's too deeply into his current emotions to retort his usual, 'It's Allen!' or 'My name is Allen!' or 'I'm not that short, idiot Lavi!'

He swallows hard. "No… I'm not that dense," he chokes out. Sucking his lip into his mouth in terror, he holds in his sobs. By the look in his eye, I know that he's telling me that he loves me, too. Always has.

Honestly, if we were to drop right now, I would at least be satisfied to know that my feelings weren't unrequited.

Without warning, my grasp is nothing but fingertip-to-fingertip. It's a miracle that he's still dangling here. Water spring to my eyes. "I think this is it, Allen," I tell him softly. He releases his own tears, and I watch them glide over his skin and drip off to fall into the rushing ocean hundreds of feet below.

"I think so, too," he says. "I… I wish we had more time."

"So do I," I utter breathlessly.

…And that's when I feel a tug on my back and in the swiftest of movements, I'm being pulled onto solid ground with Allen's hand fumbling to keep it's hold on mine.

Somehow, we're safe again, and Kanda is standing over us, his usual scowl on his face. "Che, you two need to watch yourselves next time."

I could have hugged the guy, as cranky as he is. Instead, Allen and I nod to each other, and we jump his ass and hold our weapons over our heads, aiming for his head. "YOU SHOUD HAVE SAVED US SOONER!" we bark in unison.


	21. Unknown

**U – **_Unknown_

The night was humid and warm. August got like that, sometimes. It made you far too hot in your bed, which ultimately kept you up most of the night as you tried to cool down enough to sleep comfortably. When you couldn't, you kept changing positions in order to stop your skin from sticking to the sheets from your sweat.

It was on a night like this that Lavi couldn't take it any longer. He leapt out of bed (he hadn't even been using the covers; they were kicked onto the floor at the foot of the mattress) and donned a pair of pants so not to walk around in solely his undergarments. He tossed on his eye patch, too, in case he ran into someone. He wouldn't want them to see his bad eye, now, would he?

It felt as though the corridors of the Black Order's tower were much cooler than his bedroom. As he walked down them, some of the dampness started to life from his skin. It was refreshing, although Lavi knew it would be better if he was in front of a cooling refrigerator. Maybe he should pop into the kitchen for a while…

A noise struck his ears. The redhead paused and stood silent for a moment to see if he could catch it again.

There it was. Behind him.

Lavi whirled around and spotted Allen coming around a corner. The white-haired boy paused in his tracks. A smile touched his lips. "Lavi."

The redhead offered a short wave and a small grin. "Yo. What are you doing up at this ungodly hour?"

"I'm headed for a little late-night snack; it helps me sleep," Allen answered as he caught up with Lavi. "And you?"

Lavi shrugged as he wiped a bit of oily sweat from his brow. "I was too hot. I needed move around and hopefully cool off."

Allen nodded sympathetically. "It is really humid tonight, isn't it?" He sighed. "To tell you the truth, I'm not hungry. I was going to go into the kitchen not for food, but for the cold air from the refrigerator."

Lavi chuckled softly. He laced his hands behind his head. "I was thinking of doing the same thing, actually. What, do you have mind reading powers or something, bean sprout?"

"My name is Allen," he reminded the other in an irritated tone. "And no, I don't, but it's a funny coincidence, huh?"

Lavi had to agree to that.

After a while, they came across the kitchen. Luckily, Jerry wasn't there yet to start making any of the breakfast pastries that they usually have on Sunday mornings. The kitchen was empty and dark, like a ghost town. The two boys crept in and tip-toed over to the freezer. "Let's see if we can't find any popsicles in here," Allen suggested.

"Good idea," Lavi smiled. They opened the door, a delicious wave of frosty air caressing them. "Ahh, that feels nice."

"But this will be nicer: look, popsicles!" Allen whispered excitedly. "I call the lime one!"

"That's fine, because I wanted the orange one," the redhead replied. They scrambled to grab their treats and tear them open. The icy, fruity treat stuck to Lavi's tongue temporarily, but it tasted and felt so wonderfully refreshing that he hardly minded.

They tossed out their wrappers and walked together out of the kitchen, the warmth of the night already seeming less stifling. "Want to go out on one of the balconies?" Allen asked.

Around a suck at his popsicle, Lavi replied, "Sure."

Outside, the breeze helped tame the humid August heat, and the crescent moon lit some of the scenery below them. Lavi leaned forward on the ledge, and beside him, Allen leant back on it. "Aside from the insomnia and heat, it's actually a nice night tonight."

Lavi nodded as he bit at his frozen orange treat. "It is. On nights like this, I usually stargaze."

"Stargaze, really? I never had time to stop and look at the stars. What kinds of things do you see when you look at the stars? Constellations?" the younger teen questioned.

The future Bookman stared at him in disbelief. "You mean… you never lain out and studied the stars? Why not?"

"Like I said, I never had the time. On the nice, clear nights, I was either too exhausted or wounded or busy with battle to look. Or too deep in thought," he added sheepishly. "I, uh, think about quite a few things on nights like this."

Before Lavi could ask what sorts of things, he decided to answer one of Allen's earlier questions. "Yes, I see constellations. The old man made me memorize over half of them." An idea sparked in his mind as he finished off his popsicle. "Ne, Allen… do you want me to show some of them to you?"

Caught with the remaining bite of his popsicle in his mouth, Allen glanced over at his friend. "You'd do that?" he murmured hopefully.

Lavi smiled. "Of 'course I would. I think everyone should appreciate astronomy at least once in their lives. So what d'ya say? Shall we head to the roof and stargaze for a while?"

The cursed Exorcist looked nervous. "The r-roof?" he stuttered. "But isn't that, you know, a little too high?"

"Don't tell me you get vertigo, Allen," the redhead chuckled. "Admittedly, the Black Order's headquarters is unbelievably high, but isn't it worth it to get the best view you can of the vast unknown above our heads?"

Allen sighed as he tossed his popsicle stick over the ledge and stood to his full height. "You have a point there."

Still smiling, Lavi offered one hand as the other withdrew his hammer. Being able to grow and extend to just about any side, he's always able to make it small enough to carry at all times and large enough to take them straight to the roof. "Shall we, then?"

Allen hated traveling with Lavi's hammer. His landings weren't the best, and it was such a terrifying rush to be shot up into the air the way he was when Lavi took him with. But he accepted the offered hand and stepped onto the mallet end as he slung to both Lavi's chest and the extending pole of the anti-Akuma weapon.

"Here we go!"

They oared through the air and ended up right beside the edge of the roof. Allen stepped off and sat somewhere in the middle of the roof as Lavi stepped onto the shingles and shrunk his hammer again. He joined the other within seconds, only he stretched out immediately. Putting his hands behind his head, he relaxed. "Which one do you want to know about?" he asked the younger boy.

Allen pointed upwards at a chain of horizontal stars. "That one."

Lavi leaned over slightly so that his head was near Allen's. Unknown to the redhead, Allen blushed and peered at him form the corner of his eye.

"That one? That's Orion. The chain you see is his belt," he explained.

"And that one over there? The one with the North Star?"

"That's Ursa Minor; y'know, the Little Dipper? It looks like a soup ladle," he explained as he traced the stars with his finger. Beside him, Allen followed the shape and nodded. He scooted a little bit closer to his friend, hoping the redhead wouldn't notice.

"What about that one? I can almost make a square and a tail out of it," he said.

"Ah, that one's Draco the dragon," Lavi informed him. "Personally, he's my favorite. But I bet you'd like that one way over there," he said as he pointed to a large collection of stars.

"Which one's that one?"

"Sagittarius," Lavi replied with a chuckle. "It's best seen now, in August."

Allen smiled. "You're right, I do like that one. It's oddly shaped, but it reminds me of my Clown Crown."

"How so?" the redhead inquired as he, too, absentmindedly scooted closer. If he wanted to, he could casually lower his hand to hold Allen's demented left hand, but he wasn't sure how the white-haired boy would react.

"See the way it spikes a little at the top and stretches across? It's like what my Clown Crown does when it wraps around me," he replied. He turned his head to look at Lavi, although he could only see his messy red hair, eye patch, and profile. "What others are there, Lavi?"

"Well, you can't see them at this time of year, but some of the best constellations are Pegasus and Aquarius. The next time they're out, I'll show them to you."

"Is that a promise?" Allen asked softly. The thought of doing this again with his friend made him oddly happy.

The other nodded. "Yup, it's a promise. I like sharing the unknown with you, Allen; if I can do it again, I will."

Allen smiled warmly as dared to grip Lavi's hand, which was at his side so close to Allen's own. He hoped that the redhead wasn't disgusted by the awfully strange texture of the skin on his left hand. But it seemed that he wasn't, because Lavi grinned and gave Allen's hand a small squeeze.

"I'm glad that I couldn't sleep tonight," Allen murmured.

"Me too," Lavi replied.


	22. Victim

**A/N: AU high school crap. And in Allen's POV. But i'm wanring you, since it's AU, he's acting a little OOC since, y'know, he's not under the same circumstances. Plus, I'm a girl, meaning our little Al-boy might seem a little girlier in first-person POV. XD**

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**V – **_Victim_

_It's all so cliché, _I think as I sigh to myself. In front of me was a chain of red-slashed homework papers, all of which were for mathematics. I'm not very skilled at math, apparently. More specifically, I'm not skilled with geometry. All the formulas throw me off. Why can't it be simple like English class? I'm fantastic in English! Especially poetry writing. I don't mean to brag, but I'm a pretty good poet. I paint okay, too. Why can't math be as simple as painting?

The cliché factor doesn't come from the failure, however. It comes from the fact that I'm a fifteen-year-old sophomore that has to be tutored by an eighteen-year-old senior. Now, the true clichéd part isn't our ages; it's who he is. See, the guy's name is Lavi (I don't know his last name), and I've had a crush on him since I first saw him at the pep rally last year. I've had a feeling that I was gay for about a year prior, but the second I laid eyes on him, I knew that I was. Because what else could trigger such feelings inside me when I see another boy?

I don't know how the school chose the right tutor for me, but I'm willing to bet that somehow they found out that I like him and decided to play a little prank on me by setting me up with him. Because, honestly: how much of a coincidence can it be that the one person perfect for raising my grades is the one guy I have a crush on? In my opinion, there's a fine line between coincidence, fate, and planned mischief. I'm pretty sure it's the latter this time.

I'm the victim here. The victim of poor grades of a cliché teen-novel situation; when you put it together, I'm essentially the victim of consequence. Which sucks, by the way.

"Allen Walker?" the handsome redhead ventures as he walks into the classroom. "That's you, right?"

My heart flutters in my chest. God, I've never seen him this close before; he's so handsome. Before this moment, I've only at a distance or briefly in the halls. He's in drama club with me, too, but I'm always in the lighting and sound booth, gazing at his performance on the stage below. I have to say, the distance doesn't do him justice. His bright, fiery red hair and shining forest green eyes are almost too much for me to handle. And the curve of his jaw line paired with his soft – yet mature – cheekbones… I sure can pick 'em, huh? Smart, artsy, attractive. And he has an amazing smile, even if I can see how forced it is around others. But I don't see it forced right now; he's staring right at me, smiling, and it looks genuine. I wonder why?

"Yeah, that's me," I reply, praying that my voice is as casual and nonchalant as I want it to be. "And you're Lavi, right?"

"That's correct," he says cheerfully as he comes to sit beside me. He plops some books, paper, and a calculator on the desk. From atop one of his pierced ears he withdraws a sharpened pencil. "I'm Lavi Deak, and I'll be your tutor for the next couple weeks, or at least until your grades are back up. Now, I can understand if you don't want some guy tutoring you, but I hope that we can be friends."

I flash him what I think is one of my more dazzling smiles. "I assure you, I'm not the type to fight help. And I would like us to be friends."

"Really?" he inquires. "Well then, this shouldn't be a problem, then. Speaking of problems… let's look at the first one, the area of a kite plus the area of a rhombus."

Okay, I take it back. I'm not victim; victims aren't as lucky as I am. Here I have the guy of my dreams peering over my shoulder – he doesn't have many personal space boundaries, I realize – smelling so lovely that I want to kiss him, and he is being really nice to me. Tell me, how many victims are like that? I'll answer that for you: none.

"Allen," Lavi says at one point, "Are you still paying attention?"

"Er, yes. Sorry, did I not look like it?" I respond weakly. I tuck a stray piece of my nearly white platinum blonde hair behind my ear.

I notice with a skipped beat of my heart that Lavi's eyes are carefully watching the action. He clears his throat and glances off to the side, his own ears burning. Is he embarrassed by something that I did?

"No, you seemed focused, it's just… you were focused on me and not the math problem I was explaining."

"Oh," I murmur. I hope he hasn't figured out my feelings for him. What is he's straight? Then he'd never think twice about me, and for the remainder of our tutoring sessions I'll feel horribly uncomfortable and sad. I don't want that to happen…

He looks back at me. "It's alright," he says. "I think we're done for today, anyway. So if you'd like to, uh, go grab a coffee or something with me, then maybe we could get to know one another better."

Whoa, wait a minute. Is he asking me out? If he is, then do I even need to express my joy at the thought? "Sure, we could go get a coffee together," I answer with a smile.

He grins wholeheartedly. "Cool. Let's go, then."

Cliché or not, I'm suddenly extremely glad for the tutor program at our school. And I think Lavi is, too.


	23. Wall

**A/N: No, I am not clever enough to come up with such a beautiful idea on my own. You see, this drabble/oneshot is based off of/inspired by a lovely video by Mike Inel, called 'Draw With Me'. If you want to know what that is, go to my profile. My icon is the two characters form the video short, and there's a link adjacent to it for youtube. If you're curious, go watch it. Otherwise, enjoy! :D**

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**W – **_Wall_

Allen paced down to the edge of his village where many did not venture. The grass grew shorter and softer the farther from civilization he went. There seemed to be more stars in the sky as he ventured out into the open pace passed all sight and sound of human beings. He came across a field of fireflies, twinkling and bright. He followed their flight and came to something that glinted in the soft setting sun.

Curious, he walked over to it. There were a few fireflies resting on a flat surface, a perfectly smooth wall of glass. It reached a good thirteen feet into the air, and was about two or three inches thick. "That's odd," he murmured to himself as he touched a hand to the surface. Part of his hand was reflected back, and almost looked discolored. Through the glass, Allen could see the rest of the field, more fireflies, and more of the soft, short grass.

He glanced to his left. The wall went on as far as he could see. He looked to his right, and it went just as far. But… to his right, not a fifth of a mile away, was a figure. He blinked once in confusion. "Who's that?"

He ran the length of the glass wall until he was in front of the person. He stopped and caught his breath before looking up. There was another boy there, with red-orange hair and jade green eyes. The boy was watching him with a tilt of his head. Allen called out, "Hey! What's your name?"

The other boy saw his lips move, but couldn't hear a word through the bizarre, mystic glass. The redhead shrugged his shoulders and placed a hand by his ear.

"I said, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?!" Allen yelled at the top of his lungs.

The other boy seemed to sigh and shake his head.

Allen frowned. He leant back on his right foot and thought for a moment, his hand to his chin. Suddenly, he remembered something: because of a younger boy from his village he was tutoring, he had two erasable markers in his pant pocket. If they work on whiteboards, then they should work on glass, too, right?

He dug into his pocket until he found them: one was red, and the other was green. Christmas colors. He uncapped the red one and wrote out on the glass in backwards lettering (so that the other boy could read it), _My name's Allen. What's yours?_

He proceeded to toss the green marker over the high wall. It fell by the redhead's feet. He bent down and picked it up. Uncapping it, he answered, _I'm Lavi. _He paused before adding, _Has this wall always been here? I came this way in search of a well for water, but found a bunch of fireflies. I followed them here because I thought that it was weird for a bunch of them to be out so early in the evening._

Allen jerked back in surprise. He eagerly wrote, _Same here! I was exploring the area and saw an unusual amount of fireflies, followed them, and then there was this wall. Who knows? Maybe it has always been here all along and we just didn't know it._

Lavi puzzled over this. _That's strange. Think we should tell someone about this?_

Allen shook his head. The red marker squeaked as he replied, _I doubt they'll react well. People panic, you know. They might feel trapped and could do something foolish. _

_You have a point there,_ Lavi agreed. He sat down on the grass. Allen did the same. Then, Lavi asked, _So, what's your village like?_

Before long, the sun set and night came in. The only light came from the semicircular moon and the dancing fireflies. The boys discussed many things, from people they knew to their schools to jobs. Before long, they began doodling to one another, adding the occasional comment or witty remark, a laugh or a smile accompanying it. They couldn't hear a word, but there was enough conversation going across a section of the wall to cover a lifetime.

Near midnight, Allen questioned, _Lavi, don't you have a family that's wondering where you are right now?_

Upon reading this, the redhead's shoulders slacked. His expression sad, he leaned forward and wrote, _No, not really. I might not look it, but I'm seventeen; so I'm taking care of myself. I came to the village I live in now after my mother died. I don't know who my father was, or if he's alive._

_I'm sorry to hear that… Are you lonely, then?_

_Not anymore. I found you,_ Lavi added with a small smiley face beside the words, even if the smile on his face didn't reach his eyes.

Allen felt a blush consume his cheeks. _Me either. I'm an orphan, too, although being fourteen I still need someone sometimes. That's why my Uncle Cross decided to take me in when I was nine. I don't like living with him very much. But because I came to live with him, I was able to find this wall… and you._ He smiled brightly. _Funny how that works out, huh?_

Lavi laughed, the wall silencing the pleasant melody of his voice. He scooted over to more of the blank wall and wrote, _Yeah, it is funny. But I'm glad for it. I've never had a friend before, really._

_Why not?_ Allen wanted to know. While Lavi scribbled out an explanation, Allen doodled a robotic character he made up called a 'golem'. This golem's name was Timcanpi, and over the course of the hours they've been together, Allen had doodled the little guy often. He even told Lavi how he wished to build a real one someday.

Finally, Lavi's explanation was finished. Allen glanced over and read, _There aren't many children in my village. The only ones moved out before I came or were just getting born. Adults don't associate with teenagers much; they think we're all pranksters. It doesn't help that I am one, always doodling faces on people or braiding old men's beards when they're all asleep. _There was an amused rabbit's face beside this. It went on to say, _So if you think about it… you're the first person near my age that I've met and talked to long enough to befriend. _

Allen nodded meekly. He replied, _I know how that feels. There are only young children in my village; I'm more or less a tutor, and somewhat of a nanny. The parents have jobs to do and the old are too sick to care for the children, so I do it all. I'm friendly with them, but none of them are really my 'friend'. And, you know, since I've never met you and haven't been around you on a daily basis, I didn't have any prejudices about you, like you being a prankster or whatever. _

The redhead smiled genuinely. _That's true._ He looked up at the moon before writing, _It's getting late. Family or not, we should sleep. _

The white-haired boy sucked his lips in between his teeth. _But what if I can't find the wall again? How will I see you?_

Lavi winked. Lifting his hand to the wall, he drew a lightning bug. _Just follow the fireflies. _

Reassured, Allen nodded. _Okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Lavi. _

_Sweet dreams!_ The other wrote. He sketched a quick heart beside the word 'dreams' that made Allen's lips lift into a miniature smile.

They then stood and walked away, hoping that they would see one another again like they promised, and that this hadn't been some surreal hallucination.

o0-0o

The next morning, Lavi rushed to do his chores so that he could meet up with Allen at the glass wall. He had kept the dry erase marker in his hand all night, images of his new friend swirling in his mind while he slept. He couldn't wait to see that lovely face again, framed in snowy locks and accented with a red scar down his left eye.

Noon passed. Free to leave for the meadow near the wall. He hesitated before he left his house, however. What if he brought a rope? If Allen held the other end, he could scale the wall and they could meet for real! He could hear Allen's voice, which he pictured to be gently low and caring. That would be amazing.

So he searched for a rope, but found none. That's when he spotted a tall ladder. "Hey," he grinned, "That would work just as well!"

He picked it up, hoping the owner of it didn't mind if he borrowed it for a while. Whistling, he went further and further from the village until he saw a flock of lightning bugs. He tailed them and, like before, came to the ominous wall of glass. He took solace in the fact that Allen was already there. Lavi waved, and Allen waved back only to point a finger at the large ladder and raise an eyebrow. Lavi laughed and motioned that he would demonstrate.

When Lavi approached the wall, he slammed the ladder against it, making sure it was steadied beneath him. Then he began to climb…

Below, he could see Allen's awestruck face, and found it rather adorable. He smirked and continued to venture up, rung by rung. But when he reached the top and was about to touch the glass so that he could sit on it as he switched the ladder to the other side, the glass reflected a vast amount of light and shot up another ten feet, far above the ladder's reach. The redhead reeled back, nearly falling off. What was with this wall?! Was it magic or something? Or was it cursed? Either way, it was royally pissing Lavi off.

Furious, the redhead slid down the ladder and kicked it to the ground. When he looked over at Allen, his face softened as he read the words, _It's alright, Lavi. You tried your best._

Sighing, Lavi pushed the ladder aside and withdrew his marker. He sat in front of Allen and forced a smile. _Well, that certainly didn't go as planned, huh? _He doodled a rabbit with a sweatdrop falling beside it's ears.

Allen shook with a chuckle. He returned with, _I guess not. _Below this, he scribbled out, _Do you think this wall is enchanted? Maybe put here a long time ago to stop war or invaders?_

Lavi's downhearted mood was still in effect, but he kept his forced smile and shrugged. _Maybe. That seems the most probable. But this wall is really pissing me off. I want to hear your voice, Allen._

The younger boy glanced down, embarrassed. Sheepishly, he wrote,_ I want to hear your voice, too. But for now, I guess this will have to be enough._

And it was, for about a week longer. They met each and every day, spending hours together, simply writing and drawing to one another. The markers started to go dry, so Allen brought more, of multiple colors this time. He had blue and Lavi had orange, and then he had purple and Lavi had yellow, and eventually, they were writing with black and brown to one another, the last markers Allen owned.

_I'll have to buy more soon, _Allen told Lavi one day, about ten days after they had met.

The redhead replied, _You better. Somehow, I can't stand the thought of stopping these meetings with you._

Allen cocked his head. _Really? I was thinking the same thing. I like talking to you a lot, Lavi. And seeing what you draw; you're a much better artist than me. Is it because you're left-handed and I'm right-handed? I heard once that left-handed people are supposed to be more creative._

Lavi laughed and drew a quick sketch of Allen's face with a jealous stress mark on his forehead. He added cat ears.

Allen pouted. Raising his hand to the glass, he wrote, _See? That's exactly what I'm talking about._

Lavi laughed harder. When he clamed himself, he replied with, _All joking aside, I don't think that has anything to do with it. I've always been able to draw, as far as I can remember. You just need practice. Hell, since we started, you've gotten better since you've been doing it every day. Am I right?_

Allen flushed. _Heh, yeah, I guess you are. Thanks._

_No need to thank me, _Lavi responded with an embarrassed scratch to the back of his head, _I didn't do anything._

_No, but you did say something to me just now that no one else ever has; you told me that I simply need practice. No one has ever had confidence in me like that before. _The white-haired boy replied with a soft, warm smile in both his eyes and on his lips.

Lavi returned the smile. _Well, someone should. I think you're a beautiful person, Allen._ He placed his hand flat on the glass when he was done, the marker forgotten by his knee.

Allen glanced at it, his heart fluttering slightly. Lavi was so sweet to him. A bit of a joker – he once drew on the glass over where Allen's face was with a mustache, horn-rimmed glasses with swirls inside them, and buck teeth – but it was all for the sake of getting Allen to giggle. So, really, the redhead was sweet, and thoughtful. He even tried on that second day to climb over the strange glass, just so he could be with the other boy.

So Allen returned the gesture, his hand lining up over Lavi's as if they were holding hands. Allen closed his eyes, and pretended that the hard, flat surface was instead soft, warm skin. He could almost feel it…

When he opened his eyes, Lavi looked heartbroken. He let his hand fall, and Allen took his own away. Lavi glumly wrote, _I thought if it was thin enough, I could feel your body heat through the glass. But… it's still cold._

Allen's heart broke as well. As he brought his eyes back to Lavi, there were new words written in front of him.

_I want to feel you. _

The shock and tender expression was clear in the younger boy's eyes. "Lavi…" he murmured aloud.

Lavi could read his name on the other boy's mouth. He chewed on his lower lip as he scribbled hastily, _Sometimes, I can't tell if you're real or not. I feel like I'm going insane! 'What if this is one big dream?' I ask myself some nights. 'What if he's just a figment of my imagination, created out of sheer loneliness?'_

Allen frowned. _No, _he wrote. _Don't think like that. I am real, Lavi. I'm right here. There's just a wall between us, that's all._

The redhead scowled and stood, his jaw set and his fists clenched tight. He wished he had a mallet; a big, black mallet that could destroy everything. He would tear down this wall, shatter it into a thousand pieces, and sprint to the other until he was close enough to hold him. He didn't know why, but Lavi desperately needed to be with the other boy. It wasn't enough to sit here day after day, so close, yet so far away…

_What are you doing? _Allen asked after he had scrambled to his feet.

Lavi connected his gaze with the other boy but didn't respond. He simply took a stance and pulled back his fist.

"Lavi?" Allen called out, even if the other couldn't hear him. "You're not trying to –"

But before he could say, '– break the wall down, are you?' the redhead threw his fist forward. It hit the glass and stung badly, but he kept going. He threw punches with his right, his left, and his right again, over and over.

On the other side, Allen was pressing himself up against the glass, yelling in protest while shaking his head once or twice. "Lavi, no! Stop! You'll hurt yourself! It's not worth it, okay? You don't have to –"

But that's when a crack appeared, right beside the white-haired boy's fingers. He recoiled, his mouth agape. Lavi waved him over, saying, "Out of the way, Allen!"

Even if he couldn't hear him, Allen understood. He back up and over to the side.

Lavi punched, over and over, right on the crack. It grew, and as he panted and sweat, it started to make noises as the glass started to buckle and give.

Suddenly, he broke through.

Right in front of Allen's eyes, his hands to his mouth, he saw Lavi's fist on his side of the wall. Splinters of glass seemed to move and glisten as if in slow motion. "Lavi," he breathed.

But then, it reversed. Without warning, the glass sucked in backwards into place, surrounding and tearing at Lavi's hand. Blood splattered on both sides of the glass, dripping down it as the force shoved Lavi's hand back behind him. Through so much blood, Allen couldn't tell what exactly happened, only that some of the glass – on it's way back into place – had hit Lavi in the eye.

From his side of the wall, all Allen could do was fall to his knees and watch in horror as Lavi let out the loudest silenced scream Allen had ever seen.

o0-0o

Allen couldn't go to the wall the next day. Somehow, he knew Lavi wouldn't be there. He also couldn't stand the thought of seeing all that blood again, starkly dark red against the glass and ground, as if wine had been spilled. He knew that he would have to clean it, but for now he simply clung to his brown eraser marker and cried.

The following day, he walked to the wall. He waited, and wondered if Lavi would come. Within an hour, the redhead showed up. As he sat down, Allen immediately noticed the eye patch over Lavi's right eye and the solidly bandaged and cast left arm, from the elbow down. But it didn't go very far down; it was a stub. They had to amputate it, the younger boy realized.

His heart dropped to his stomach. Allen wrote shakily, _Lavi, are you alright?_

Through the glass, Allen could see the start of tears. Slowly, the redhead nodded.

Allen smiled weakly. _Want to draw for a while?_

Lavi looked down. He picked up his black marker, the same color as his new eye patch, and held it insecurely in his right hand. He wrote in thick, messy script, _**I can't anymore.**_

The younger boy let a few tears slip down his face as Lavi turned around abruptly and walked away. He knew that the redhead was crying, too.

o0-0o

A week later, Lavi returned to the wall. He had been practicing writing with his right hand, and could make marks at least thirty percent better with it. But he would never be able to draw again.

When he approached the wall, he saw a package in Allen's arms and a long cloak over his shoulders. He smiled brightly and signaled that he was going to throw the package over to Lavi. Blinking, the redhead stood back as the package flew over the wall and landed at his feet. Curious, he bent down and opened it.

Yet he leapt backwards when he saw what was inside.

_You need it more than I do._

In the box, it was Allen's left arm, from the elbow down.

_It's special. It should sync right up with whatever's left of your arm. So please, Lavi… let's be together again. I miss you so much._

Swallowing hard, the redhead nodded. With his right hand, he replied messily, _**Okay. Thank you, Allen. That was a huge sacrifice you made for me.**_

Allen blushed. _Don't mention it. I did it because you mean more to me than anything else I've come into contact with. I'd give you my heart if I could._

Lavi softened. _**I would give you mine, too.**_


	24. Xray

**A/N: I don't know who's POV this is in. Technically, it works for either boy, and I had both Allen and Lavi in my head while writing this. So you may interpret it as you will. I'm curious to see who you picture talking, though. Mind telling me in a review? ;D**

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**X –**_ X-ray_

He can see right through me. Every fake smile, every false laugh, each and every façade I put up. He knows my insides, knows my true self, knows the pain I carry in the center of my breast. He knows all of it, because he does exactly the same thing. He feels the same way, deep down.

He smiles when he wants to reassure people, just like I do. He laughs when he wants to joke with people, despite what a crummy mood he's in; which is what I do. His own heart aches because of all his own regrets and circumstantial turmoil. He fights with himself on every thing, similar to how I do.

One day, I decided to confront him about it, a serious look on my face.

"We understand each other, don't we?" I asked. "We're like a two-sided x-ray scanner, one seeing through the other. Am I wrong?"

He sighed. "No, you're not wrong."

"So what does that make of us?"

He gave me a lopsided grin, his way of saying, 'I have no clue.'

But I like to think that it makes us soul mates, perfect matches, two people destined to be together. He's my friend, and I'm sure certain people wouldn't approve, but I don't care. I want to cling to my personal x-ray, because he's the only one I can bear my true self to. I'm exposed to him always, and he's exposed to me. We see each other.

And I think that's what makes us so compatible, as both friends and something much more.


	25. Young

**A/N: This is a parody of manga chapter 159; because it was the funniest, crack-filled-est, randomest shit i have ever read in a manga. XD**

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**Y – **_Young_

The accident left everyone feeling like morons, especially poor Komui and the members of the science team.

During the chaos of trying to move headquarters, all hell broke loose. Aside from the mindless work zombies, there were other issues to deal with, like a meowing Linalee and a bunny-eared Bookman. But the best (or worse, depending on your perspective) was Kanda and Lavi reduced to being children.

Admittedly, my elongated 'bishie' hair wasn't much better, because it felt strange flowing over my neck and onto my back in a bow-tied ponytail Linalee gave me. But at least only Timcanpi and I had to deal with long hair; at least we didn't have ears or small, childish bodies. Er, well, if Tim can even get a younger body; he grows, yes, but not like how a human does.

I have to say, though: Lavi was more than adorable. I didn't know him as a child, but in a child-like form he reminded me a bit of John, the boy I met whose friend, Leo, got turned into an Akuma. Except instead of a hat and goggles, Lavi wore an oversized headband and a too-large eye patch. I loved the way he looked in Bookman's clothes; he was like a little Asian boy with those clothes on. His rounded face and big jade eyes paired with a grumpy pout made him all the cuter. It was strange, because I had such a strong urge to hug him.

When I did, my arms wrapping around his smaller body (which I took a bit of pride in, because it made me taller than him for once and allowed me to call him bean sprout instead), I noticed his mouth open in surprise and his ears burn with a blush. "Allen, you pedophile! Lemme go!" He thrashed in my grip, causing me to fall on the couch behind me. He was now positioned in my lap; it felt weird.

"I'm not a pedophile!" I retorted sharply. "You're still the same age inside, which means nothing changed except your height." I squeezed him tighter. "And just for saying that, I'm not going to let you go until you say the magic word. You want to act like a temperamental brat, then I'm going to treat you like one~!"

Lavi snorted. "What magic word?" He tugged at my arms with his little hands, but it was no use. I was stronger, now.

I gaped at him. "Haven't you ever played that game with someone where you have to say 'please' in order to get what you want?"

"I wasn't an impolite kid, so I always said please. Panda-man would kill me if I didn't. He said the start of observations was with people, and in order to get to people, you had to be polite."

"Hmm, well," I teased, "Then I guess this will make the game all the more fun."

"Allen, seriously, let me go," the chibi-Lavi protested in a whiny voice.

"Not until you say the magic word~!" I sang playfully.

"Please!" he said, his cheeks becoming as humiliatingly red as his pierced ears.

"That's not the magic word," I replied. "Not _my_ magic word, anyhow."

"What?! That's not fair!" he hollered. He reached back and tugged at my long hair. I yelped, but it didn't hurt that much. I was just surprised at how quickly he was resorting to his childish instincts.

"Lavi-chan," I cooed, "That's not nice. Let go of Allen's hair."

"Why are you talking in third person?" he retorted as he released his grip on my low ponytail. "That's stupid."

"No, what's stupid is that you haven't tried guessing what my magic word is. Maybe you don't want me to let you go?" I pointed out with a tickle to his ribs. He giggled despite himself.

"A-Allen! S-stop it!" he pleaded through his giggles. "Th-that's not… that's not funny!"

"It is to me," I chuckled as ceased my tickling and locked my arms back around him.

Chibi-Lavi blew at his bangs. "They should never have let you baby sit me. I can take care of myself, even in this body," he grumbled to himself.

"Oh, the sorrows of being young again," I lamented to mock him. He tried to kick me, but being in my lap the way he was, it didn't do him much good. "What do you think my magic word is, bean sprout?"

"Hey, that's my name for you! You can't use it!"

"I can too," I replied. "You're shorter than me now."

"Humph," he pouted. I liked seeing him all huffy like that. It was so cute.

"Guess a word, or I'm never letting go," I reminded him.

He rolled his eye. "Fine. I'm betting it's a food, since you love to eat so much. Let's see… rice pudding? Hamburger? Spaghetti? Sushi?"

"No, no, no, and no. It's not a food at all," I told him.

He glanced over his shoulder suspiciously at me. "How can I be sure that you're not bluffing?"

With one arm I keep my hold on him, but I raise the other hand with my little finger extended. "I pinkie-promise that I'm not lying." I loved using all those childish phrases and games; at the time, it was very nostalgic for me.

Lavi stared at my finger. Reluctantly, he clasped his pinkie finger with mine and shook it twice. "Fine, I believe you." He paused as he turned his flushed face away. "Not food, huh? Then maybe… a comrade? Like Linalee, or Yuu, or Miranda, or Kro-chan?"

I shook my head. "Nope, it's not one of our comrades. But you're getting warmer," I said.

He put his hand to his chin and thought. There was a cowlick on the back of his head that tickled my neck, and it was hard not to release him and brush it away. Meanwhile, he started naming any random thing that popped into his head. "Innocence? The Earl? Rhode? Tyki? Noah? Clown Crown?"

"I'll give you a hint, because I feel bad; you'll be at this all day if I don't give you some kind of clue." I sighed. "It's an action."

"An action?" he repeated as he looked over his shoulder at me for a moment. He thought for a minute. "Like one of your attacks?"

"Nope," I said. "Try again."

All of a sudden, a mischievous grin broke out on his face. "Then is it a kiss?" he drawled as he wrenched in my arms and pecked my lips.

I backed up in my seat and bought my hands to my mouth, my eyes wide and utterly stunned. To anyone else looking, I probably did look like the pedophile Lavi deemed me earlier.

In front of me, he stuck his tongue out. "Haha! Got you, Allen. And now I'm free~!"

And that's when the youngster scampered off, and I was forced to chase after him in hot pursuit. "Lavi, you get back here! I'm supposed to be watching you!" I called out, my cheeks still flushed from the sudden kiss I just received.

"Say the magic words, Allen!" he yelled in riposte as he ran ahead of me. He was fast for someone with shorter legs.

"You can't use my own game against me!" I hollered as I flipped my too-long white hair out of my vision. _Uhg, I hate this hair. I miss my short, easier-to-handle hair!_

"Too bad, I just did!"

_Damn brat! I'll get him,_ I thought. _And when I do, I'm going to scoop him up and torture him with more tickling. That seems to work well._

And that's exactly what I did.


	26. Zero

**A/N: I actually sat down and re-watched episodes 88 and 89 of the DGM anime to count (by tally) the number of times Allen called out Lavi's name, including the delusion-Allen in Rhode's dreamworld and the final "baka Lavi" said when the two were lying side by side. I came up with twenty-one times. 0_0**

**OMG I ACTUALLY DID ALL TWENTY-SIX DRABBLES! I'm so proud of myself. XD  
Now I just have three other ABC collections to complete... #shifty eyes#**

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**Z – **_Zero_

If I were to record all the numbers of people who have died in the Black Order alone, I would read in the thousands, perhaps even the tens of thousands. _Ten._

If I were to calculate the percentage of hasty actions based on temporary emotion, I would almost reach one hundred percent. _Nine._

If I were to throw a pebble into a pond every time someone brought back a loved one as an Akuma throughout he entire world, there would be no water left. _Eight._

If I beat the Millennium Earl with my hammer for every tear I shed over what I thought was Allen's death, then there would be no more pain and suffering, because he would be as dead as a doornail. _Seven._

If I cursed the times that I didn't take an opportunity or make use of a choice given to me, I would have an entire dictionary of swear words. _Six._

If I were to write out the times that Komui was being overprotective of his sister, I would have a book full. _Five._

If I were to put a bandage on each lump on my head from the times Gramps would hit me if he knew I was in love, I would need to use every bandage in the infirmary. _Four._

If I would have counted the times Allen cried out my name **[La…vi… Lavi… Lavi. Lavi! Laaaviii!] **during our battle while Rhode messed with my head, I would have precisely twenty-one tally marks. _Three._

If I extended the pole of my hammer an inch every time my heart raced when I looked into Allen's blue-grey eyes, it would probably reach the outer levels of the Earth's atmosphere. _Two._

But if I said 'I love you' to anyone, I would have but a single individual to say it to: Allen Walker. _One._

And if anything ever happened to him, then my existence would be reduced to nothing, because there is no one else I want to be with. _Zero._


End file.
